^f^^^-%.  /*f*<f/, 


. 


C      (   I   I  l(K^     (II  I  '*vw         <■     hu    f) 


cC, 


UC  v- 


MISCELLANEOUS 


SERMONS,     ESSAYS, 


ADDRESSES, 


BY    THE 


REV.  CORTLANDT*  VAN   RENSSELAER,  D.D., 

LATE   CORRESPONDING   8ECRETARY   OF   THE   PRESBYTERIAN*   BOARD   OF   EDUCATION. 


EDITED    BY    HIS    SON, 


CYAN    RENSSELAER, 


PHILADELPHIA: 

J.    B.   LIPPINCOTT    &    CO. 

1861. 


Eutered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  tint  year  1860,  by 
J.  B.  LI  1'1'INCOTT    &    CO., 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Eastern  District 
of  Pennsylvania. 


\  )1^\ 


PREFACE. 


The  contents  of  this  volume  have  all  been 
published  during  the  life-time  of  the  Author. 
This,  it  is  believed,  will  not  be  considered  dis- 
advantageous, as  they  have  been  revised  and 
corrected  by  the  Author,  and  were,  by  him. 
carefully  prepared  for  issue  in  the  present  form, 
during  his  last  sickness.  His  directions  then 
given  have  been  minutely  and  reverently  car- 
ried out. 

The  Editor  deems  it  proper  to  say  that  the 
Funeral  Sermon  upon  the  occasion  of  the  death 
of  Bishop  Doane,  is  here  republished  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  wishes  of  some  of  his  father's 
friends,  whose  judgment  upon  this  point  would 

have  been  final,  had  not  his  father  expressed  a 

(Hi) 


IV  PREFACE. 

preference,  in  his  last  illness,  for  its  being  in- 
cluded in  this  volume. 

This  preference  the  Editor  has  felt  it  incum- 
bent upon  him  to  observe,  and  he  willingly 
bears  the  responsibility,  whatever  it  may  be. 

Burlington,  N.  J. 

December  12th,  1860, 


CONTENTS. 


Introductory  Memoir         .......  11 


PLAIN  HINTS  TO  NEW  SCHOOL  THEOLOGIANS  .    37 

Prominent  Failings  and  Practical  Errors  among  Ministers, 
39  ;  Consequences  of  these  Errors,  55  ;  Causes  which  have 
produced  these  Errors,  61. 


EULOGY  ON  DANIEL  WEBSTER 69 

His  Childhood  and  Youth,  74  ;  Collegiate  Life,  80 ;  Public 
Career,  83  ;  Unquenchable  attachment  to  the  Union,  90  ;  Cha- 
racter of  his  Eloquence,  93 ;  Private  and  Social  Character,  99 : 
His  Religious  Sentiments,  107 ;  Sickness  and  Death,  112 : 
Lessons  of  Providence  over  his  Grave,  116;  Thankfulness  to 
God  for  such  Men,  116 ;  Influence  of  Early  Training,  119  : 
Value  of  Collegiate  Education,  119 ;  Excellence  of  a  Noble 
Ambition,  120 ;  Capriciousness  of  Public  Opinion,  121 ;  Homage 
of  Intellect  to  Christianity,  122;  End  of  Earthly  Greatness.  123  ; 
Personal  Religion  the  Highest  Form  of  Worth,  124. 

HISTORICAL  DISCOURSE  AT  THE   CENTENNIAL  CELE- 
BRATION OF  THE  BATTLE  OF  LAKE  GEORGE      .        .  127 

Introduction,  129 ;    Champlain  —  Father  Jogues,  131 ;  Old 
French  War,  132 ;  Washington  sent  to  protest  against  Inva- 
sion of  the  Ohio  Valley,  135:  Meeting  of  First  American  Con- 
1*  (v) 


VI  CONTENTS. 

PA0I 

gress,  135 ;  Expeditions  of  Braddock,  Shirley,  and  Johnson, 
137 ;  Battle  at  Fort  Edward,  141 ;  Distinguished  Men  engaged 
in  the  Battle,  150 ;  Circumstances  which  made  this  Battle 
renowned,  156;  Forts  around  the  Battle-field,  162;  Effects 
of  the  Battle,  166;  Monument  should  be  erected,  168;  Con- 
clusion, 168. 

THE  ADVANTAGES  OF  COLLEGES 171 

Carroll  College,  a  Good  Gift  to  a  Great  State,  176 ;  Its  adap- 
tation to  furnish  Ministers,  176;  Furnishes  useful  Public  Men, 
180 ;  Healthful  Influence  in  the  Common  Schools  and  Acade- 
mies, 185 ;  Important  Aid  to  Morality  and  Religion,  191  ; 
Expedition  to  Upper  Mississippi  and  Missouri,  194 ;  Wisconsin 
admitted  to  the  Union  under  Ordinance  of  1787, 197  ;  Elements 
of  Wisconsin  Greatness,  .197 ;  Its  Advantages  of  Soil,  198;  of 
abounding  Forests,  198 ;  of  Mineral  Resources,  199 ;  of  Trade 
and  Commerce,  200  ;  of  Population,  200  ;  of  Education,  201. 

SIGNALS  FROM  THE  ATLANTIC  CABLE     ....  205 

Superintendence  of  Divine  Providence  in  the  Affairs  of  Men, 
209 ;  Triumph  of  Human  Genius,  Faith,  and  Perseverance, 
215;  Advantages,  Political,  Social,  Economical,  and  Religious, 
225  ;  Approach  of  the  Millennium,  238. 

PRESBYTERIAN  VIEWS  ON  SLAVEHOLDING    .        .        .24:} 

Scriptural  Doctrine  of  Slaveholding,  247 ;  Introduction,  247  ; 
Slaveholding  not  a  malum  in  se,  254  ;  Relation  of  Master  and 
Slave  not  that  of  Parent  and  Child,  255 ;  Slaveholding  not 
Lawful  under  all  Circumstances,  256  ;  Abnormal  and  Excep- 
tional, 257  ;  Belongs  to  the  adiaphora,  259 ;  Testimonies  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church,  262 ;  Statement  "  Slaveholding  is 
not  Necessarily  and  under  all  Circumstances  Sinful,"  philo- 
sophical in  Form,  265  :  Requires  no  Explanation,  267  ;  Is  the 
Doctrine  of  Christ  and  his  Apostles,  269 ;  Commends  itself 
to  Consciences  of  Slaveholders,  270 ;  Practical  Power  to  resist 
Error,  272. 


CONTENTS.  Vll 

PAGE 

EMANCIPATION  AND  THE  CHURCH    .....  276 

The  Church's  Interest  in  Emancipation,  280 ;  Does  not  bring 
the  Church  into  the  Province  of  the  State,  281 ;  Her  Testimony, 
not  Legislation  over  the  Consciences  of  Men,  282 ;  Emancipa- 
tion not  a  Reproach  where  Impracticable,  282 ;  Testimony  of 
the  General  Assembly,  284 ;  Church  has  a  Right  to  hold  forth 
Emancipation,  288  ;  Views  of  Old  Testament  Scriptures,  290 ; 
Influence  of  Christianity,  292;  Injunctions  of  Scripture,  297; 
Spirit  and  Principles  of  Religion  favourable  to  Natural 
Rights,  301 ;  Duties  of  Christians  as  Citizens,  303. 


HISTORICAL  ARGUMENT  FOR  SLAVERY    ....  306 

Universality  of  Slavery  no  evidence  of  approval  by  Chris- 
tianity, 306;  Early  Influence  of  Christianity,  307  ;  Slavehold- 
ing  not  always  without  Reproach,  312 ;  Worldly  Causes  not 
the  Agents  in  Slavery  Extinction,  313  ;  Consistency  of  Slavery 
with  Precepts  of  the  Gospel,  315 ;  Infidelity  not  the  Source 
of  Awakened  Interest,  318;  Views  of  Dr.  Scott,  322;  Sketch 
of  Pro-slavery  Opinions,  324 ;  All  Slavery  Opposition  not 
Alike,  326  ;  Position  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  327. 


PROPER  STATEMENT  OF   THE  SCRIPTURAL  DOCTRINE 
OF  SLAVERY 330 

Agreement  of  Dr.  Armstrong  with  Truth  of  Proposition, 
331 ;  Politics — Distinction  between  Scripture  and  Reason,  33:i : 
General  Assembly,  343 ;  Dr.  Armstrong's  Weapon,  346 ;  His 
Syllogisms,  348 ;  Explaining  his  Proposition,  351 ;  Thoughts 
at  the  Close,  355. 


EMANCIPATION  AND  THE  CHURCH ;  SCHEMES  OF  EMAN- 
CIPATION; AFRICAN  COLONIZATION,  ETC.     .        .        .359 

Emancipation  not  exclusively  a  Political  Question,  359 ; 
Slavery  and  the  Interests  of  the  Life  to  Come,  362 ;  Slavery 
and  the  Bible,  366 ;  Things  that  avail  or  avail  not,  369 ; 
Popular  Errors,  373 ;  Schemes  of  Emancipation,  380 ;  Li- 
berian  Colonization,  385 ;  Free  to  be  sent  first,  387 ;  Results 


Vill  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

of  Colonization  Society,  389 ;  Expectations  Concerning  Li- 
beria, 390 ;  Effects  of  entertaining  Emancipation  Scheme,  399 : 
The  Work  and  the  Way,  400 ;  Church  and  Advisory  Testi- 
mony, 403 ;  History  of  Anti-Slavery  Opinions,  405 :  Con- 
cluding Remarks,  406 ;  Dr.  Baxter  on  Slavery,  409. 

THE   AMERICAN   BIBLE    SOCIETY;    ITS    ATTEMPT   AT 
REVISION HI 

On  the  New  Emendations  .         .         .   ' 413 

Right  of  Presbyterian  Church  to  this  Discussion,  414 ; 
Emendation  not  Constitutional,  416 ;  Notes  or  Comments  not 
to  be  made,  420 ;  Committee  of  Revision  exceeded  their  Powers, 
422 ;  American  Bible  Society  should  retrace  its  Steps,  424 ; 
Speeches  of  Drs.  Breckenridge  and  Adjer,  432;  Presbyterian 
Church  at  liberty  to  examine  concerning  Emendations,  433 : 
Committee  no  general  authority  to  go  behind  the  Translators, 
435 ;  Report  does  not  give  all  the  Alterations  in  Words,  436 : 
Changes  of  Text,  438 ;  Punctuation,  439 ;  Brackets  and 
Italics,  440 ;  Variance  between  American  and  English  Edi- 
tions, 443 ;  Practical  Lessons  from  the  Attempt  at  Bible 
Emendation,  448;  Origin  of  American  Bible  Society,  450. 

Protest  of  the  Committee  of  Revision,  and  an  Answer  to  it     .  451 

Protest,  451 ;  Answer,  455  ;  Resolutions  of  the  Board  of 
Managers,  right  according  to  Precedent,  455 ;  Give  Validity 
to  the  Text  of  1816,  456 ;  Attribute  Infallibility  to  no  one, 
456 ;  Aim  at  Restoring  the  Common  Headings  and  Contents 
of  Chapters,  456  ;  Function  of  the  Committee  is  confined  to 
Collation,  457  ;  Chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Nine,  458  ; 
Resolutions  imply  no  Reproach,  but  Official  Disapprobation. 
458;  Errors  in  Principle  and  Practice,  459;  Resolutions  were 
passed  with  a  full  knowledge  of  Facts,  459. 

On  the  Origin  of  the  American  Bible  Society        .         .         .  461 

British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society,  461 ;  Its  Influence,  462 ; 
Dr.  Spring's  Life  of  Mills,  463;  Meeting  at  Burlington,  464: 
Elias  Boudinot,  465  ;  The  Founder  of  American  Bible  So- 
ciety, 467 ;  Report  of  New  Jersey  Bible  Society,  469 :  Of 
Philadelphia  Bible  Society,  470;  Convention  in  New  York, 
472;  Dr.  Boudinot's  Circular,  474. 


CONTENTS.  IX 

FUNERAL    SERMON    UPON    THE    DEATH    OF    BISHOP  " 
DOANE ' 477 

Reasons  for  the  fearful  harshness  of  Human  Judgments, 
479;  Greatness  of  God's  Mercies,  482;  Bishop  Doane,  things 
to  be  remembered  in  judging,  485;  His  fine  Mind,  487 ;  Force 
of  Will,  488  ;  Energy  and  Self-denial,  489 ;  Social  Traits. 
491;  As  a  Churchman,  492;  Orator,  496;  Writer,  497;  The 
Privileges  attending  his  Death,  498 ;  Lessons  at  the  Grave. 
502 ;  Remarkable  Funeral,  5,06. 


CAPTURE  OF  TICONDEROGA 509 

Introduction,  513;  The  Indian  Gateway,  514 ;  Champlain's 
Expedition  of  1609,  518;  The  Old  French  War,  523;  Mont 
calm's  March  against  Fort  William  Henry,  536 ;  The  Attack 
and  Massacre,  537 ;  Abercrombie's  March  against  Ticonderoga, 
542 ;  The  Attack  and  Repulse,  544 ;  Fort  George,  550 ;  Cap- 
ture of  Ticonderoga  by  Amherst,  552;  By  Ethan  Allen,.  554: 
Centennial  Lessons,  556;  Champlain,  564;  Howe,  Amherst, 
Ethan  Allen,  565  ;  The  Century's  Call  to  God,  566. 


INTRODUCTORY   MEMOIR. 


.  (Jurtlandt  Van  Rensselaer  was  the  third  son  of  the 
Hon.  Stephen  Van  Rensselaer,  by  his  second  wife,  Cor- 
nelia Paterson,  the  daughter  of  Chief  Justice  Paterson 
of  New  Jersey.  His  father  was  a  man  of  the  most  un- 
directed humility  of  heart,  refined  by  nature  and  by  cul- 
ture, whose  religion  was  the  religion  of  a  Catholic  Chris- 
tian, and  who  dignified  the  high  civil  positions  he  filled, 
by  the  courteous  geniality  of  his  manner. 

Among  the  many  traits  for  which  he  was  distinguished, 
not  the  least  was  his  personal  popularity.  Among  his  nu- 
merous tenantry  there  was  felt  for  him  a  general  sentiment 
of  affection  and  regard — and,  even  now,  those  who  are  the 
most  virulent  against  his  descendants,  seldom  mention  but 
with  respect  and  honour  the  name  of  the  ;i  Good  Patroon." 
As  an  incident  showing  the  deep  impression  his  character 
produced  upon  various  minds,  it  is  related  that,  when 
"visiting  Washington  during  the  sessions  of  Congress, 
after  several  years  of  absence,  in  his  simple,  unobtrusive 
manner  he  entered  the  Hall  of  Representatives.  The 
moment  he  was  observed,  there  was  so  general  a  move- 
ment to  press  forward  and  salute  him,  that  the  business 
of  the  House  seemed  to  have  been  entirely  suspended." 

Of  my  father's  mother,  the  Rev.  Thomas  E.  Vermilye, 
her  pastor  and  her  friend,  who  knew  her  well,  says: 
"  Constitutional  timidity,  in  some  respects  beyond  what 

(xi) 


Xll  INTRODUCTORY    MEMOIR. 

is  common  in  her  sex,  served  the  more  strikingly  to  set 
forth  a  moral  firmness  that  was  calm  and  considerate, 
but  fixed,  and  perfectly  immovable  when  judgment  and 
conscience  had  decided  the  course  of  duty.  Indeed, 
the  sense  of  duty  seemed  eminently  the  governing  spring 
of  her  whole  conduct.  It  may  be  easily  seen  how  ad- 
mirably these  natural  endowments  formed  her  to  bless 
the  household  scene  and  grace  the  social  circle ;  to  be- 
come the  wise  and  judicious  counsellor  of  her  honoured 
husband,  and  to  exert  the  happiest  influence  in  her  ma- 
ternal relations.  Admirable  in  each  capacity,  in  the 
latter  she  was  pre-eminent.  She  ruled  her  household 
with  discretion,  because  she  ruled  herself  with  judgment 
and  the  fear  of  God." 

My  father's  childhood  was  passed  in  the  city  of  Albany ; 
and  the  love  of  his  birth-place,  so  natural  to  all  men,  was, 
in  him,  distinguished  with  a  peculiar  force ;  it  passed 
with  him  through  all  the  varieties  of  his  occupations,  and 
went  down  with  him  to  the  grave.  Throughout  the 
whole  of  his  life,  though  the  best  and  most  active  part 
of  it  was  spent  without  its  bounds,  he  always  regarded 
his  native  State  as  the  foremost  among  her  sisters,  and 
clung,  with  a  reverent  affection,  to  the  old  Dutch  city  of 
his  birth.  It  was' the  home  of  his  youth,  the  honoured 
residence  of  his  parents.  To  him  it  was  ever  fresh  and 
green  with  pleasant  memories,  or  hallowed  with  sacred 
associations ;  and  it  is  here  that,  at  his  own  request,  he 
now  reposes. 

He  received  his  first  instruction,  in  1815,  in  Provost 
Street,  Albany,  at  Bancel's,  a  thorough  and  celebrated 
French  school-teacher  of  the  day,  where  were  educated 
many  who  have  since  been  prominent  in  their  respective 
callings.  He  afterwards  attended  school  for  about  a  year 
at  Morristown,  New  Jersey  (Mr.  McCullough's),  previous 
to  completing  his  preparatory  studies  at  the  Academy  at 


INTRODUCTORY    MEMOIR.  Xlll 

Hyde  Park,  New  York,  under  the  care  of  Dr.  Benjamin 
Allen.  Dr.  Allen,  who  had  formerly  been  Professor  of 
Mathematics  and  Natural  Philosophy  in  Union  College, 
.was  a  man  of  high  mental  attainments,  a  rigid  discipli- 
narian, thorough  in  his  teaching,  and  punctilious  in  the 
respect  due  to  him  from  his  pupils.  My  father  remained 
here  from  the  fall  of  1819  to  1823,  when  he  entered  the 
Freshman  Class  in  Yale  College. 

Of  his  life  at  college  I  have  been  able  to  gather  but 
little  knowledge ;  and  what  reveals  itself  in  letters  and  other 
manuscripts  is  mostly  of  a  purely  confidential  character. 
His  favourite  studies  seem  to  have  been  history,  natural 
philosophy,  and  geology,  with  the  latter  of  which  he 
afterwards  became  more  familiar  during:  a  g:eolog:ical  tour 
undertaken  in  company  with  Professor  Amos  Eaton.  He 
was  thoroughly  conversant  with  the  poetry  and  classical 
literature  of  England,  and  with  the  oratory  of  her  truest 
statesmen.  He  endeavoured  earnestly  to  accustom  him- 
self to  the  habit  of  extemporaneous  speaking,  making  it 
a  practice  to  be  upon  his  feet  in  Linonia  Hall  as  often  as 
possible. 

He  formed  at  college  many  pleasant  and  endearing 
acquaintances,  and  one  friendship  which  walked  with  him, 
shoulder  to  shoulder  through  life,  assisted  him  with  frank 
and  candid  counsel,  rejoiced  with  him  in  joy,  and  felt  for 
him  in  sorrow ;  cheered  and  comforted  him  in  the  hours 
of  his  last  sickness,  and  has  been  tenderly  shown  in  a 
tribute  to  his  memory,  honourable  alike  to  the  dead  and 
to  the  friend,  whose  affectionate  privilege  it  was  to  pro- 
nounce it. 

He  was  graduated  in  1827  with  honours  above  the 
average  of  his  class,  and  after  spending  a  short  time  in 
Albany,  entered  upon  the  study  of  the  law  in  the  law 
school  connected  with  Yale  College.  He  remained  here, 
however,  only  about  eight  months,  when  he  returned  to 
2 


XIV  INTRODUCTORY     MEMOIR. 

Albany,  and  completed  his  preparatory  studies  for  the 
bar  at  the  office,  and  under  the  advice  of  Abraham  Van 
Vechten.  The  relations  which  he  sustained  towards  this 
distinguished  and  venerated  lawyer,  were  of  the  most, 
affectionate  and  respectful  character ;  and  when  Mr.  Van 
Vechten  died  in  the  winter  of  1837,  my  father  prepared 
an  address  commemorative  of  his  life  and  public  services, 
which  I  believe  was  never  published,  as  the  manuscript 
only  remains  among  his  papers. 

In  December,  1829,  he  commenced  a  journey  to  New 
Orleans,  accompanying  his  father,  who  had  been  accus- 
tomed for  twelve  years  previous  to  spend  his  winters  in 
the  South,  partly  for  pleasure,  but  chiefly  for  the  bene- 
ficial effects  of  a  warm  and  genial  climate.  It  was  prob- 
ably during  this  excursion  that  my  father's  thoughts  were 
first  turned  to  religion,  by  the  death,  at  New  Orleans,  of  a 
dear  and  valued  friend,  whose  loss  he  keenly  felt  and 
deeply  mourned. 

The  record  of  the  observations  which  he  made  during 
this  period,  is  full,  minute,  and  discursive ;  containing, 
among  other  things,  remarks  upon  the  geological  forma- 
tion of  the  country  through  which  he  passed,  opinions 
upon  the  commercial  and  political  advantages  of  the  va- 
rious cities  and  States,  detailing  interviews  with  many 
distinguished  statesmen  and  civilians,  to  whom  he  had 
the  privilege  of  an  introduction  through  the  medium  of 
his  father's  acquaintance.  He  paid  a  particular  and 
thorough  attention  to  the  institution  of  slavery  as  it  then 
existed  in  the  Southern  States ;  and  the  views  which  he 
then  formed  concerning  this  vexed  question,  in  its  rela- 
tions to  the  Church,  the  State,  and  to  individuals,  were 
retained  through  life ;  though  modified,  perhaps,  by  cir- 
cumstances and  matured  by  experience,  they  were  sub- 
stantially unchanged.  "What  these  were,  is  told  better 
than  can  be  done  in  the  words  of  another,  by  his  Address 


INTRODUCTORY     MEMOIR.  XV 

delivered  at  the  opening  of  the  Ashmun  Institute,  and 
his  controversy  with  Dr.  Armstrong. 

Upon  his  return  to  the  North  in  1830,  although  apply- 
ing himself  with  renewed  diligence  to  the  study  of  the 
law,  my  father's  mind  seems  for  some  time  to  have  been 
in  a  state  of  disquietude  and  uncertainty  with  regard  to 
religion.  Under  date  of  June  22d  he  writes :  "  Took  a 
ride  to  Troy  —  I  had  the  pleasure  of  Miss 's  com- 
pany :  she  told  me  she  hoped  I  would  be  a  minister.  This 
was  the  first  time  this  subject  was  distinctly  proposed  to 
me :  though  I  don't  feel  disposed  to  mingle  with  the 
world,  I  cannot  think  I  am  fit  to  be  a  minister."  July 
6th,  in  a  long  interview  with  his  father,  to  whom  it  was 
his  filial  custom  to  go  for  advice  upon  every  important 
matter,  he  mentioned  for  the  first  time  his  preference  for 
the  Presbyterian  form  of  government  and  worship,  and 
adds:  "He  did  not  seem  to  like  it,  so  I  abandoned  the 
idea,  and  intend  joining  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church.'" 

Whilst  in  the  midst  of  these  doubts  the  time  came 
when  he  had  determined  to  apply  for  admission  to  the 
bar ;  and  he  accordingly  set  out  for  Utica,  the  place  ap- 
pointed for  the  examination  of  candidates,  in  company 
with  his  friend,  Henry  Hogeboom,  with  whom,  and  about 
forty  others,  he  was  admitted  to  practice  on  the  16th  of 
July,  1830. 

In  September  of  this  year  he  conversed  upon  the  sub- 
ject which  then  filled  his  mind,  with  the  Rev.  Nathaniel 
W.  Taylor,  D.D.,  at  New  Haven,  who  urged  him  forward  in 
his  disposition  ;  and  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  the  counsel 
and  persuasion  of  this  eminent  theologian  went  far  to 
incline  him  churchward. 

He  seems  to  have  been  almost  settled  in  his  determina- 
tion to  become  a  minister  upon  the  10th  of  September, 
under  which  date  he  wrote  a  letter  to  his  mother,  from 


xvi  INTRODUCTORY    MEMOIR. 

Boston,  in  which,  after  mentioning  the  serious  nature  of 
his  reflections,  he  says  : 

"  This  is  not  a  sudden  thought,  nor  the  result  of  a  ca- 
pricious and  unreflecting  moment.  I  have  deliberated 
much,  and  weighed  the  consequences.  I  can't  reconcile 
my  present  course  and  profession  with  my  views  of  duty. 
It  is  in  vain  that  I  imagine  to  myself  that  I  am  better 
qualified  for  public  life  and  the  contests  of  the  political 
world.  I  feel  their  vanity  and  unsatisfying  pleasures; 
and  my  mind  is  only  at  ease  when  I  contemplate  my 
future  course  as  a  course  of  usefulness  in  the  immediate 
service  of  God. 

"  Who  would  have  thought  that  I,  the  most  unworthy 
of  all  your  offspring,  would  ever  have  entertained  serious 
thoughts  of  dedicating  himself  to  his  Maker  ?  But  my 
past  life,  foolish  as  it  has  been,  ought  not  surely  — nor 
will  it  _  deter  me  from  aiming  at  higher  things.  It  is 
by  the  grace  of  God  alone,  that  I  am  what  I  now  am ; 
and  it  is  upon  the  same  grace  that  I  rely  to  bless  and 
prosper  my  good  intentions.  The  reasons  which  have 
influenced  "my  mind  in  inducing  me  to  abandon  my 
present  profession  are  these : 

"  1.  I  consider  that  every  man  is  under  obligations  to 
his  Maker,  to  pursue  that  course  in  life  in  which  he 
thinks  he  can  be  most  useful. 

"  2.  A  man  of  property,  who  has  not  the  troubles  and 
anxieties  of  business  to  divert  his  mind,  is  under  peculiar 
obligations  to  make  himself  useful. 

"3.  I  consider  and  firmly  believe,  that  those  men  are 
the  happiest  who  devote  themselves  most  to  God. 

"4.  My  experience  leads  me  to  believe,  that  it  is  almost 
impossible  for  me  to  retain  proper  religious  feelings,  if  I 
am  occupied  with  the  ordinary  vanities  and  pursuits  of 
the  world." 

On  Sunday,  October  3d,  he  saw  and  heard,  for  the  first 


INTRODUCTORY     MEMOIR.  XV11 

time,  Professor  Charles  Hodge,  of  Princeton  :  and  on  the 
17th  of  the  same  month  he  first  partook  of  the  com- 
munion.1 Shortly  after,  he  says :  "  I  saw  Boardman,  and 
had  a  long  talk  with  him  on  religious  topics.  This  was 
my  object  in  coming  to  New  Haven.  My  mind  is  pretty 
strongly  made  up  to  devote  myself  by  the  grace  of  God 
to  the  ministry.  I  have  no  enjoyment  in  this  world,  and 
therefore  wish  to  draw  myself  from  it."  November  9th, 
he  talked  finally  with  his  father  upon  this  subject,  when 
(he  writes)  "  we  agreed  that  it  was  best  for  me  to  go  to 
Princeton ;"  and,  starting  immediately  for  Princeton,  with 
the  promptness  which  always  went  hand  in  hand  with 
his  decisions,  he  arrived  there  upon  the  evening  of  the 
same  day. 

Having  received  his  collegiate  education  at  Yale  Col- 
lege, and  having  been  a  frequent  hearer  and  a  warm  ad- 
mirer of  Dr.  Taylor,  it  is  not  strange  that  his  religious 
creed  should  have  been  coloured  with  some  of  the  hues 
of  the  "New  Haven  Theology:"  it  would  have  been 
stranger  still,  to  those  who  knew  him,  if  he  had  hesitated 
to  avow  and  defend  his  opinions  at  all  proper  times.  His 
friend  Dr.  Boardman,  in  speaking  of  this  portion  of  his 
life,  says :  "  Many  a  time  did  we  contest  this  ground  in  our 
daily  walks  at  Princeton,  and  while  nothing  could  exceed 
the  candour  and  good  temper  with  which  he  defended 
his  opinions,  he  clung  to  them  with  that  tenacity,  which 
then  and  always,  constituted  a  marked  feature  of  his  char- 
acter." When  afterwards  he  was  convinced  of  its  inef- 
ficiency and  error,  he  threw  it  aside  with  a  single  effort, 
and  in  the  later  years  of  his  life  spoke  of  it  to  a  friend,  as 
a  system  "  all  head  and  no  heart." 

At  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Princeton  were  passed 

1  These  two  facts  are  so  mentioned  in  his  diary,  as  to  make  the  con- 
nection a  more  intimate  one  than  that  arising  merely  from  the  order 
of  time. 

2*  B 


XV111  INTRODUCTORY     MEMOIR. 

some  of  the  pleasantest  days  of  his  life,  and  he  only  left 
this  seat  df  learning  that  he  might  complete  his  theolo- 
gical education  in  the  midst  of  the  people  among  whom 
he  had  already  determined  first  to  labour.  It  was  his 
privilege  to  form  a  personal  acquaintance  with  the  emi- 
nent theologians  who  then  occupied  the  chairs  of  the 
different  professorships  — Alexander,  Miller,  and  Hodge  ; 
which,  with  the  two  former,  partook  of  the  nature  of  a 
guardianship,  authorized  by  the  wisdom  of  experience ; 
and  with  the  latter,  ripened  into  as  strong  and  reverent  a 
friendship  as  my  father's  strong  nature  was  capable  of. 

In  the  fall  of  1832  he  left  Princeton  and  went  to  the 
Union  Seminary,  Prince  Edward  Co.,  Va. ;  and  while  here, 
the  deep  interest  which  he  then  and  always  felt  for  the 
African  race,  prompted  him  to  read  before  the  "  Society 
of  Inquiry,"  a  paper  upon  "  The  personal  duty  of  preach- 
ing the  gospel  to  the  slaves  in  our  country  ;  "  early  taking 
his  stand  upon  his  duty  with  the  candour  and  the  manli- 
ness which  were  characteristic  of  his  public  avowals  of 
opinion.  After  a  journey  through  Georgia  and  the  Car- 
olinas,  undertaken  with  his  honoured  friend  and  asso- 
ciate, Rev.  William  Chester,  I).  D.,  he  was  licensed  by 
the  Presbytery  of  "West  Hanover,  in  October,  1833,  and 
commenced  preaching  to  the  slaves  in  Virginia,  upon 
plantations  in  Halifax,  Fluvanna,  and  adjoining  coun- 
ties, chiefly  upon  those  of  Gen.  John  H.  Cocke,  Mrs.  S. 
C.  Carrington,  and  Gen.  Carrington.  Having  been  all 
his  life  known  as  the  warm  friend  of  the  African  race, 
never  having  hesitated  to  declare  openly  his  opinions 
upon  the  duty  of  enlightening  the  slaves :  having  been 
appointed  in  July,  1833,  by  the  American  Colonization 
Society,  their  permanent  agent  for  the  central  district, 
"to  promote  the  great  object"  of  their  organization,  it 
seemed  to  him  fit  that  he  should  devote  the  first  years  of 
his  ministry  to  the  field  where  his  heart  and  his  duty 


INTRODUCTORY    MEMOIR.  XIX 

called  him.  The  masters  in  those  days,  afforded  to  the 
young  minister  every  facility  in  their  power,  towards  the 
amelioration  of  the  condition  of  their  slaves ;  with  one 
hand  they  welcomed  him  to  their  hearths  and  homes  as 
an  honoured  guest, — with  the  other,  helped  him  freely 
and  manfully  onward  in  his  mission  of  education.  The 
slaves  all  loved  him ;  he  went  around  among  their  cabins, 
instructing  the  willing,  comforting  the  sick,  administering 
the  consolations  of  religion  to  the  needful.  He  prayed 
with  them,  preached  to  them,  worked  for  them.  Nor 
were  his  endeavours  for  their  good  confined  within  mere 
professional  bounds ;  they  took  a  wider  scope,  and  among 
his  papers  there  is  a  set  of  "  Regulations  for  a  Christian 
plantation,"  which  were  laid  before  their  owners,  and  in 
many  instances  adopted.  When  he  left  the  plantation 
of  Mrs.  Carrington,  in  Halifax  Co.,  he  called  upon  the 
overseer,  and  in  her  absence  requested  that  the  servants 
should  be  assembled :  this  was  done,  and  after  preaching 
his  farewell  sermon  to  them,  he  parted  with  them,  in  the 
language  of  one  of  their  own  number,  "all  weeping." 

It  will  not  be  out  of  place  to  quote  here  from  a  letter 
of  Gen.  John  H.  Cocke,  one  of  my  father's  staunchest 
friends  in  Virginia,  and  who  assisted  him  upon  his  own 
plantation  with  all  the  kindliness  and  courtesy  of  a  Chris- 
tian gentleman. 

"Bremo,  Fluvanna  Co.,  Va.,  Nov.  2d,  1860. 

"  The  strong  and  abiding  sympathy  which  sprang 

up  between  us,  grew  out  of  the  deep  interest  he  felt  in 
the  welfare  and  religious  instruction  of  the  African  race 
in  slavery  amongst  us  at  the  South ;  and  I  believe  his 
having  devoted  the  first  years  of  his  ministry  in  that  field 
of  labour  in  Virginia,  did  more  to  awaken  in  our  masters 
a  sense  of  duty  to  provide  religious  instruction  to  their 
slaves,  than  the  efforts  of  any  other  individual.  He  more 


XX  INTRODUCTORY     MEMOIR. 

than  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago,  during  his  year's  residence 
with  us,  dedicated,  as  far  as  my  knowledge  goes,  the  first 
plantation  Chapel  for  the  religious  instruction  of  negroes. 
The  spot  upon  which  it  stands  was  one  of  his  own  selec- 
tion. After  walking  over  the  adjacent  grounds,  and 
seeing  its  convenient  vicinity  to  the  three  plantations 
around  it,  swarming  with  souls  almost  as  ignorant  as  the 
heathen,  he  knelt  down  upon  the  naked  earth  in  the  bosom 
of  a  tangled  thicket,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  Rev.  Saml. 
B.  S.  Bissell,  now  one  of  the  Secretaries  of  the  Amer. 
Seamen's  Friend  Society  in  the  city  of  New  York,  and 
another  witness  only,  dedicated  the  spot  by  a  faithful, 
fervent  prayer,  to  the  purpose  of  his  mission  to  the  South. 
The  chapel  was  soon  erected  upon  the  designated  ground, 
and  stands  a  cherished  monument  to  the  glory  of  God, 
and  the  good  of  man. 

"  Since  that  time  many  more  plantation  chapels  have 
been  built  by  large  slave-holders  in  Virginia,  where  reg- 
ular religious  instruction  at  the  expense  of  their  masters, 
is  given  to  the  slaves." 

But  his  labours  among  the  coloured  population  of  Vir- 
ginia were  permitted  to  last  but  little  over  a  year.  So 
early  as  February,  1833,  when  in  Savannah,  the  most 
unwarrantable  suspicions  were  uttered  with  regard  to  his 
mission  at  the  South.  These,  though  publicly  met  and 
fully  refuted,  foreshadowed  difficulties,  which  he  felt 
would  sooner  or  later,  cross  the  path  of  his  duty.  In  one 
of  his  letters  to  a  valued  friend,  Rev.  S.  S.  Davis,  of  Au- 
gusta, Ga.,  under  date  of  Nov.  29,  1834,  he  says : 

"  Dear  Brother  Davis  : 

"  I  write  with  much  love  in  my  heart  flowing  out  towards 
you,  and  with  a  great  desire  to  see  you  once  more  face 
to  face.     The  summer  of  1833  was  to  me  a  glad  season, 


INTRODUCTORY    MEMOIR.  XXI 

not  only  in  lending  my  feeble  aid  to  a  good  work,  but 
also  in  forming  an  intimacy  with  a  Christian  brother, 
whose  friendship  I  confide  in,  and  most  highly  prize.  I 
feel  as  if  the  time  were  coming,  when  every  brother  will 
have  need  of  comfort,  and  help,  and  encouragement  from 
his  brother's  heart.  If  this  Southern  Zion  is  not  to  be 
shaken  like  the  forest,  the  issue  is  not  in  correspondence 
with  the  signs.  I  think  I  can  discern  a  cloud  already 
larger  than  a  man's  hand,  which  is  to  swell,  and  blacken, 
and  thunder  over  the  bulwarks  of  Presbyterianism.  It 
will  have  small  beginnings,  but  results  terrible  for  a 
season  to  the  southern  churches.  Are  there  not  diverse 
symptoms  in  South  Carolina  of  increasing  disaffection  to 
Presbyterian  Christianity,  and  especially  towards  its  min- 
isters who  have  enjoyed  a  northern  origin  ?  The  Vir- 
ginians are,  I  think,  becoming  more  and  more  hostile  to 
northern  men,  owing  to  an  anticipated  apprehension  of 
their  anti-slavery  feelings.  The  States  north  of  the  Po- 
tomac, and  the  Western  States  will,  in  spite  of  every 
human  effort,  agitate  the  slavery  question.  You  might 
as  well  quench  the  spirit  of  liberty  which  once  burned 
in  the  hearts  of  the  men  of  '76,  as  suppress  the  existing 
tendencies  to  revolutionary  movements.  I  deeply  and 
heartily  grieve  that  the  agitation  of  the  question  has  as- 
sumed its  present  form.  We  can  retard  the  tumult  for 
a  short  time  longer,  but  the  crisis  is  at  hand.  Virginia 
has  not  religion  enough  in  her  to  meet  the  issue.  The 
Presbyterian  church  will  take  the  strongest  stand  against 
slavery ;  but  the  religion  of  her  professors  is  not  the  re- 
ligion which  will  patronize  emancipation.  If  we  had 
apostolical  Christianity,  we  could  triumph  gloriously  over 
the  opposition  of  gainsayers  and  the  fiery  hatred  of  for- 
mal professors.  But  as  we  have  not  got  it  in  our  hearts, 
we  can't  triumph.  Northern  men,  who  will  not  dastardly 
fall  in  and  curse  northern  agitators,  will  have  to  leave  the 


XX11  INTRODUCTORY    MEMOIR. 

States,  and  I  among  that  number.  I  have  returned  to 
my  old  field  of  labour  among  the  children  of  Ham  in 
this  county,  after  a  summer  spent  in  a  heartless  manner 
at  the  North.  During  my  absence,  there  has  been  some 
little  excitement  against  me,  which  will  continue  among 
a  certain  set,  who  are  always  prepared  to  act  against  the 
Gospel.  The  planters,  however,  with  whom  I  have  to 
do,  are  still  the  firm  friends  of  evangelical  instruction 
among  the  negroes.  I  shall  therefore  proceed  in  my 
work,  looking  unto  the  hills  from  whence  cometh  strength. 
Pray  for  me  when  you  remember  this  class  of  God's  des- 
titute creatures,  and  when  you  think  of  ministers  who 
come  short  of  qualifications  for  their  work.  There  are 
many  difficulties,  connected  with  this  subject,  which  I 
have  never  felt  before,  and  which  are  going  to  try  me 
this  winter  severely.  My  relish  for  the  work  is,  I  thank 
my  God,  stronger  than  it  has  ever  been;  and  I  have 
given-  myself  up  to  it  as  long  as  God  shall  be  pleased  to 
consider  me  useful  in  it." 

When  he  found,  as  he  did  shortly  after  his  ordination, 
in  1835,  that  his  presence  in  Virginia  subjected  him  to 
the  most  unpleasant  suspicions,  he  felt  it  his  duty  to 
remain  no  longer  where  the  purest  and  most  disinterested 
motives  were  misconstrued  by  the  violence  of  heated 
passion;  and,  accordingly,  in  October,  1835,  wrote  the 
following  letter  to  the  Presbytery  of  West  Hanover : 

"  To  my  Brethren  and  Fathers  of  West  Hanover 
Presbytery. 

"  After  many  anxious  and  painful  feelings,  I  find  it  to 
be  my  duty  to  ask  a  dismission  from  the  beloved  Pres- 
bytery which  first  admitted  me  to  the  ambassadorship 
of  Christ,  and  within  whose  bounds  I  have  laboured  in 
so  much  harmony  and  Christian  fellowship. 


INTRODUCTORY    MEMOIR.  XX1U 

"  The  reasons  for  my  departure  you  have  a  right  to 
demand,  aud  I  will  therefore  briefly  state  them  hi  all 
frankness,  and  yet  with  much  sorrow. 

"  I  consider  my  usefulness  in  my  particular  vocation,  at 
the  South,  to  be  almost  entirely  at  an  end.  The  Lord 
sent  me  amongst  you,  a  stranger,  to  labour  among  the 
bondmen  of  the  land  of  Virginia.  I  commenced  the 
work  in  fear  and  trembling ;  and  yet  not  without  hope 
that  the  prejudices  which  exist  between  your  land  and 
ours,  would,  after  a  time,  at  least,  cease  to  interrupt  the 
plans  and  operations  of  Christianity.  That  hope  was 
beginning  to  be  realized ;  the  times  have  changed,  and  my 
hope  is  gone !  A  great  excitement  has  sprung  up ; 
prejudices,  before  violent,  have  received  fresh  and  mighty 
impulses ;  obstacles,  scarcely  visible  a  short  time  since, 
have  now  become  mountains  by  the  volcanic  agitations 
of  a  rash  and  fiery  fanaticism.  Brethren,  joyfully  would 
I  have  laboured  amongst  you,  and  gladly  would  I  return, 
if  my  presence,  would  be  for  good !  But  the  peculiar 
feelings  of  Southern  men  are  not  unknown  to  me  at  this 
fearful  crisis ;  and  I  wish  to  act  in  a  way  that  will  not 
at  all  impede  the  prosecution  by  others  of  the  efforts  in 
which  I  have  been  engaged.  I  know  the  irritability  of 
the  public  mind,  and  the  extreme  jealousy  of  the  inter- 
ference of  foreigners,  no  matter  with  how  good  inten- 
tions they  may  come.  Especially  at  this  time  would  a 
Northern  man,  prominently  interested  in  the  slaves,  be 
the  means  of  arousing  jealousy  and  bad  feeling  wherever 
he  might  go.  He  would  be  a  rallying  point  for  prejudice 
and  evil  surmises;  and  would  keep  up  an  excitement  not 
only  inimical  to  his  own  peace,  but  destructive  of  his 
usefulness.  He  would  be  the  means  of  transferring  the 
odium  against  himself  to  all  others.  The  idea  of  per- 
sonal violence,  I  confess,  has  hardly  entered  into  my 
calculations.     I  am  so  entirely  conscious  of  the  integrity 


XXIV  INTRODUCTORY    MEMOLR. 

of  my  motives,  and  the  inoft'ensiveness  of  my  work, 
that  I  cannot  realize  any  difficulty  on  this  point,  however 
real  may  be  the  causes  for  apprehension.  It  is  not  this 
that  deters  me  from  revisiting  your  community.  It  is 
because  my  plans  have  been  cut  short;  my  influence  im- 
paired; my  facilities  of  operation  ruined;  my  timid 
friends  turned  against  me;  my  strong  ones  become 
doubtful ;  and  my  whole  prospects  far  more  gloomy  than 
when  I  first  began.  Give  me  aid  and  give  me  hope,  and 
I  can  have  the  heart  to  work.  But  I  cannot  lean  on  the 
reed  of  my  own  littleness  and  live  in  despair. 

"I  decline  continuing  operations  which,  as  far  as  my 
instrumentality  is  concerned,  I  now  utterly  despair  of 
bringing  to  any  successful  issue.  I  despair,  my  brethren, 
as  a  Northerner  and  a  stranger.  I  despair  as  one  inte- 
rested in  a  class  of  persons,  with  whom  to  sympathize  is 
becoming  more  and  more  odious.  I  despair  as  a  man 
looking  at  the  political  aspect  of  the  times.  I  despair, 
as  an  ambassador  of  Christ,  reviewing  the  course  of  God's 
Providence,  and  doubting  the  probability  of  the  Divine 
interposition  to  preserve  my  plans,  if  recommenced,  from 
interruption.  If  I  was  a  Southern  man,  and  enjoyed  the 
advantages  of  a  local  origin,  I  should  long  hesitate  before 
I  abandoned  the  country.  Or,  if  the  excitement  had 
been  caused  by  myself,  it  would  be  my  duty  to  return  in 
vindication  of  my  character  and  injustice  to  my  cause. 
But,  under  present  circumstances,  I  believe  it  to  be  alto- 
gether most  prudent  for  me  to  withdraw  from  my  connec- 
tion with  the  slaves,  since  my  position  has  become  too 
prominent  for  a  Northerner  to  retain  without  increasing 
the  prejudices  against  efforts  of  this  kind. 

"Brethren,  if  there  is  work  to  be  done  amoDgst  the 
benighted  children  of  Ham,  you  are  the  men  to  do  it, 
who  were  born  and  brought  up  on  the  soil;  who  are 
identified  with  the  feelings  and  interests  of  the   com- 


INTRODUCTORY    MEMOIR.  XXV 

munity;  who  are  the  pastors  of  the  churches,  and  the 
spiritual  guides  of  the  people.  My  own  interest  in  the 
slaves  is  not  only  unchanged,  but  increased.  It  is  in- 
creased by  the  fact  that  the  difficulties  to  their  salvation 
have  been  multiplied,  and  the  improvement  of  their  con- 
dition become  more  obnoxious,  and,  moreover,  by  the 
circumstance  that  I  shall  labour  amongst  them  no  more. 
Wherever  I  shall  go,  I  shall  still  be  their  friend  ;  to  re- 
member them  at  the  mercy-seat ;  to  labour  for  them  in 
active  life ;  to  aid  them  in  every  way  in  which  God  may 
give  me  the  grace  and  the  power.  But  as  a  spiritual 
teacher,  my  efforts  in  their  behalf  are  at  an  end.  I  con- 
sider myself  recalled  from  the  South  by  the  same  Provi- 
dence which  sent  me  there.  I  bid  adieu  to  it  in  sorrow,  but 
with  a  conscience  void  of  offence  towards  God  and  man. 
"  I  am  sustained  iu  my  course  by  the  unanimous 
counsel  of  all  my  Christian  friends  and  acquaintances  at 
the  North*  and  also  by  the  advice  of  most  of  my  Southern 
friends.  I  feel  fully  persuaded  in  my  own  mind,  there- 
fore, that  it  is  best  for  me,  all  things  considered,  to  leave 
the  South.  And  I  accordingly  request  a  dismission  from 
your  Presbytery,  whose  members  I  love,  and  shall  ever 
love  for  their  Christian  spirit,  and  their  much  kindness 
towards  me,  and  request  a  recommendation  to  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Albany. 

"  Yours  in  the  brotherhood  of  the  Gospel, 

"  CORTLANDT  YAN  ReNSSALAER." 

Turning  his  face  northward  in  the  fall  of  1835,  he  oc- 
cupied his  time  in  temporarily  supplying  vacant  pulpits 
in  various  parts  of  the  country,  until,  in  the  early  part 
of  1836,  he  assisted  in  forming  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  in  Burlington,  New  Jersey. 

In  September,  1836,  my  father  was  married  to  the 
youngest  daughter  of  Dr.  Cogswell,  of  Hartford,  Connec- 
3 


XXVI  INTRODUCTORY     MEMOIR. 

ticut;  and,  after  declining  calls  to  Natchez,  Mississippi, 
and  Bolton,  Massachusetts,  he  removed,  with  his  wife, 
to  Burlington,  and  was  installed  pastor  over  the  church 
in  that  city  in  June,  1837.  This  was  his  first  regular 
pastoral  charge,  and  his  last.  Here  he  worked  faithfully, 
devotedly,  unweariedly.  To  its  people  he  was  the  most 
assiduous  of  shepherds,  and  of  its  principles  of  govern- 
ment and  doctrine  a  bold  and  manly  defender. 

The  Rev.  John  Chester,  the  present  pastor  of  the  church, 
speaking  of  the  four  years  of  his  ministry  here,  says : 

"  During  this  time  the  church  was  fully  organized,  by 
having  its  officers  appointed,  and  a  flourishing  Sabbath- 
school  established.  During  the  first  year  of  his  pastorate, 
the  church  edifice  was  completed,  and  dedicated  to  the 
service  of  God,  on  November  23d,  1837.  It  is  an  interesting 
fact  that  the  sermon  was  preached  by  the  Eev.  Archibald 
Alexander,  D.D.  During  the  third  year  of  his  pastorate, 
the  church  was  greatly  blessed  by  an  outpouring  of  the 
Spirit,  God  thus  setting  his  seal  of  approbation  to  the 
undertaking  by  fulfilling  his  promise:  'In  all  places 
where  I  record  my  name  I  will  come  unto  thee,  and  I 
will  bless  thee.'  During  these  four  years,  four  mission- 
aries had  gone  out  from  this  church  to  foreign  lands,  one 
to  India  (Rev.  Levi  Janvier),  two  to  Africa  (Rev.  Mr. 
Canfield  and  wife),  one  to  the  Sandwich  Islands  (Rev. 
S.  C.  Damon)." 

Though  at  his  own  request,  and  from  convictions  of 
duty,  the  pastoral  relation  with  this  congregation  was 
dissolved  in  May,  1840,  the  interests  of  the  church  which 
he  founded  and  built  up  were  always  near  his  heart. 
When  its  pulpit  was  empty  he  filled  it;  when  its  people 
needed  advice  he  gave  his  counsel  and  time  freely;  and, 
on  the  morning  of  the  day  he  died,  remembered  them  to 
the  last,  in  requesting  a  change  in  an  arrangement  which 
he  feared  might  prove  inconvenient  to  them. 


INTRODUCTORY    MEMOIR.  XXV11 

It  is  not  permitted,  in  this  connection,  to  omit  men- 
tioning the  names  of  three,  now  passed  away,  whose 
presence  and  friendship  contributed  much  to  lighten  the 
lot  of  a  pastor  to  a  struggling  and  feeble  church : — Thomas 
Aikman,  one  of  his  first  elders,  who  brought  over  with 
him  from  his  native  Scotland  the  national  loyalty  for 
Presbyterianism,  the  right  hand  of  his  pastor  in  every 
good  word  and  work ;  Mrs.  Rebecca  Chester,  a  mother 
in  Israel,  whose  heart  was  large  enough  for  the  whole 
parish,  whose  hand  was  as  open  and  whose  sympathy  was 
as  free  as  her  wishes  were  liberal ;  Charles  Chauncey, 
whose  name  I  trace  with  feelings  of  reverence  and  affec- 
tion—  the  great  Christian  lawyer,  upon  whose  ripe  wis- 
dom and  experience  my  father  leaned  as  upon  a  staff. 
Often  when  the  labours  of  the  day  were  over,  the  brief 
of  the  lawyer  and  the  next  Sabbath  sermon  of  the  minis- 
ter would  be  forgotten  in  the  freedom  of  familiar  conver- 
sation. Of  Mr.  Chauncey's  letters,  filled  with  the  fra- 
grance* of  a  cultivated  mind,  I  quote,  with  permission, 
the  following,  illustrative  both  of  the  personal  friendship 
of  this  eminent  man,  and  of  the  feeling  with  which,  as  a 
parishioner,  he  parted  with  him. 

"  Philadelphia,  May  11th,  1840. 
"  My  Dear  Friend  and  Pastor  : 

"  Your  letter  was  handed  to  me  in  the  afternoon  of 
Saturday  too  late  for  me  to  reply  to  it  by  any  conveyance 
of  that  day.  I  have  read  it  again  and  again,  and  have 
reflected  upon  it  with  intense  feeling  and  solicitude,  and 
I  am  by  no  means  sure  that  I  am  duly  prepared  to  write 
to  you  on  this  interesting  subject. 

"  I  did  not  receive  the  intimation  which  you  gave  me 
the  other  day  as  seriously  as  it  is  now  evident  I  should 
have  done,  perhaps  because  it  came  upon  an  unwilling 
ear.     However,  I  only  make  this  remark  to  account  for 


XXVlii  INTRODUCTORY    MEMOIR. 

my  not  urging  the  conversation  to  a  more  definite  under- 
standing. 

"  My  entire  respect  for  you,  my  friend,  forbids  me  from 
entering  upon  any  discussion,  or  even  in  any  measure 
expressing  my  feelings  upon  this  most  interesting  and 
affecting  and  important  step,  when  you  have  said  that 
your  mind  has  been  made  up,  after  mature  deliberation, 
that  you  are  fully  persuaded  that  the  church  will  get  along 
much  better  if  some  one  else  will  now  take  your  place, 
and  that  you  deem  it  wisest  to  keep  to  yourself  your 
reasons  for  taking  your  departure. 

"  It  is  my  duty  to  you,  however,  to  say,  that  I  have 
absolute  confidence  in  the  integrity  of  your  heart,  and 
that  you  have  decided  upon  the  most  deliberate  and  con- 
scientious consideration  of  your  duty  to  God  and  the 
church.  I  cannot  forbear  to  add,  that,  as  one  of  your 
flock,  I  desire  to  offer  you  my  humble  but  hearty  thanks 
for  the  great  and,  I  believe,  profitable  enjoyment  and 
benefit  which  I  have  received  from  your  faithful  ministry. 
"I  feel  that  we  are  in  the  hands  of  a  God  of  infinite 
wisdom  and  boundless  goodness,  whose  care  is  over  even 
the  sparrow,  and  who  numbers  the  hairs  of  our  heads. 
His  smile  has  been  upon  our  little  church  :  and  his  bless- 
ing has  accompanied  your  ministrations  as  his  servant. 
We  ought  assuredly  to  trust,  implicitly,  that  He  will  not 
forsuke  us,  and  to  beseech  Him  for  that  grace  which  can 
alone  guide  us  in  the  path  of  duty. 

"Your  kind  notice  of  my  family,  in  connection  with 
you  and  yours,  has  afforded  me  and  mine  the  most  sin- 
cere gratification.  I  am  truly  thankful  to  God  that  I 
have  been  brought  into  that  sweet  and  friendly  communion 
of  heart  with  you,  which  I  hope  and  devoutly  pray  may 
endure  forever. 

"I  am,  my  dear  friend, 

"  Most  affectionately  yours, 

"  Charles  Chauncey." 


INTRODUCTORY    MEMOIR.  XXIX 

During  his  pastoral  connection  with  the  church  at 
Burlington,  he  was  elected  to  the  Professorship  of  Sacred 
Literature  in  the  University  of  New  York;  but  this 
honour  his  convictions  of  duty  led  him  to  resign,  though 
pressed  to  accept  it  by  the  urgent  solicitations  of  friends. 
In  answer  to  a  request  for  any  manuscript  information 
upon  this  subject,  made  to  the  Rev.  J.  M.  Mathews,  D.D., 
who  was,  at  this  time,  Chancellor  of  the  University,  and 
chiefly  through  whose  influence  the  nomination  was 
made,  the  venerable  divine  wrote  the  following  letter, 
which  may  well  be  inserted  here  : 

"New  York,  October  24th,  1860. 
"  My  Dear  Sir  : 

"  I  do  not  find  in  my  correspondence  any  letter  of  con- 
sequence from  your  respected  father;  but  I  have  recollec- 
tions of  him  which  could  not  well  be  refreshed  by  any 
such  aids  to  my  memory. 

"  My  first  acquaintance  with  him  was  in  his  childhood, 
and  my  frequent  intercourse  with  his  father's  family 
enabled  me  to  see  much  of  him  as  he  grew  up  to  man- 
hood. In  his  early  years  he  discovered  elements  of  cha- 
racter, which  led  me  to  expect  from  him  all  that  he 
actually  became  in  his  after  life.  Especially  from  the 
time  when  he  gave  his  heart  to  the  Saviour  he  showed 
unusual  maturity  of  mind  for  one  of  his  age ;  and  this 
was  the  principal  reason  which  led  to  his  election,  while 
he  was  yet  comparatively  a  young  man,  to  the  Professor- 
ship of  Sacred  Literature  in  the  University  of  New  York, 
a  chair  which  I  was  very  desirous  to  have  filled  by  a  man 
who  possessed  both  a  sound  intellect  and  a  devout  spirit. 
He  declined  the  place,  however,  because,  as  he  said,  he 
was  shut  in  to  other  duties  from  which  he  could  not 
withdraw  himself. 

"  The  success  which  attended  his  various  labours  in  the 
3* 


XXX  INTRODUCTORY    MEMOIR. 

Presbyterian  Church,  whether  acting  in  behalf  of  her 
seminaries  of  learning  in  raising  means  for  their  support, 
or  as  Secretary  of  her  Board  of  Education,  is  a  matter 
of  history  known  to  us  all ;  and  when  I  saw  how  happily 
he  accomplished  the  objects  he  had  chosen  for  himself,  I 
was  well  persuaded  that  he  was  labouring  in  a  field  to 
which  the  Lord  had  sent  him. 

"  If  I  should  add  a  word  as  to  the  prominent  features 
of  his  life  and  character,  I  would  say  he  was  a  man  of 
singular  simplicity  of  purpose  in  his  Master's  service. 
No  side  issues  diverted  him  from  what  he  felt  to  be  his 
duty.  Wherever  it  called  him  there  he  was ;  whatever 
it  required  him  to  do,  he  at  once  undertook,  undismayed 
by  difficulties  that  he  might  have  to  encounter ;  for  to 
this  singleness  of  purpose  he  added  both  a  moral  courage 
and  an  indefatigable  industry,  which  are  indispensable 
to  a  man  who  would  accomplish  important  service  to  his 
Master.  He  has  left  behind  him  a  wide  breach  in  the 
ranks  of  the  gospel  ministry ;  and  the  Church  must  look 
to  'Him  with  whom  is  the  residue  of  the  Spirit,'  if  she 

would  see  his  place  adequately  filled 

"  Yours  most  truly, 

"J.  M.  Matthews." 

Shortly  after  his  resignation  of  the  pastoral  charge,  he 
attacked  what  he  conceived  to  be  some  of  the  errors  and 
religious  fallacies  of  High  Church  Episcopacy.  In  the 
discussion  with  Bishop  Doane,  which  followed,  and  in 
which  several  replies  and  rejoinders  were  exchanged,  it  is 
needless  to  say  that  he  stood  his  ground  firmly  and  man- 
fully; and  it  may  not  be  too  much  to  add,  that  at  the 
conclusion  of  the  controversy,  the  young  Presbyterian 
divine  came  out  of  the  contest  with  his  lance  unsplintered 
and  armour  whole. 


INTRODUCTORY    MEMOIR.  XXXI 

During  the"  years  1841  and  '42,  his  time  was  mostly 
occupied  in  preaching  to  an  unsupplied  congregation  at 
Washington.  At  this  time  General  Harrison  was  Presi- 
dent ;  and  in  my  father's  diary  frequent  mention  is  made 
of  interviews  with  him,  and,  among  them  the  following 
interesting  ones :  "  Met  the  President  in  Frank  Taylor's 
book-store.  He  came  in  to  buy  a  Bible  for  the  White 
House— he  said  he  found  none  there,  but  that  there  ought 
to  be  one."  "Visited  the  President:  he  received  me  as 
usual,  very  kindly,  and  we  had  an  interesting  conversa- 
tion on  religious  topics.  He  seems  to  be  a  religious  man ; 
manners  frank  and  kind.  A  noble  old  man'!  Feel  sat- 
isfied with  him  as  President." 

Harrison's  death  occurring  while  he  was  in  Washing- 
ton, he  delivered  in  the  presence  of  Mr.  Tyler  and  the 
Cabinet,  a  funeral  discourse,  endeavouring,  as  was  ever 
his  wont,  to  improve  the  dealings  of  God's  providence 
for  the  good  of  those  among  whom  his  hand  was  felt. 
Washington  was  not  the  only  scene  of  his  labours ;  he 
frequently  preached  at  this  period,  upon  the  eastern  shore 
of  Maryland,  and  took  advantage  of  the  nearness  to  re- 
visit his  first  missionary  field  upon  the  plantations  on  the 
Roanoke  and  Dan  rivers,  where  it  was  his  pleasure  to 
learn  that  the  seed  which  he  had  sown,  had  produced 
many  a  sheaf,  Ml  and  ripe  for  the  harvesting. 

Returning  to  Burlington  in  the  latter  part  of  1842,  he 
nominally  remained  here  for  over  a  year,  though  hardly 
allowed  rest  from  the  journeys  he  was  continually  taking, 
to  supply  churches  whose  pulpits  were  temporarily  vacant. 
In  1844  he  was  appointed  by  the  Directors  of  the  Theolo- 
gical Seminary  at  Princeton,  their  agent  to  raise  a  fund 
for  its  permanent  endowment.  He  accepted  the  appoint- 
ment, and  with  untiring  industry,  traversed  almost  every 
section  of  the  country  from  Champlain  to  Pontchartrain, 


XXX11  INTRODUCTORY    MEMOIR. 

and  from  the  Hudson  to  the  Mississippi.1  It  was  in  the 
exercise  of  his  duties  as  agent,  that  he  laid  the  foundation 
of  an  extensive  personal  acquaintance  with  the  ministers 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church:  which  led  his  friend  Dr. 
Hodge,  to  say :  "  Of  over  nearly  three  thousand  ministers, 
there  is  not  one  who  was  the  object  of  so  much  personal 
confidence  and  affection  ;  not  one  whose  face  was  familiar 
to  so  many  persons,  or  who  had  effected  a  lodgment  in 
so  many  hearts." 

It  was  on  his  return  from  a  journey  undertaken  while 
agent,  that  he  was  informed  of  his  election  to  the  office 
of  Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  Presbyterian  Board  of 
Education.  This,  the  most  important  and  arduous  posi- 
tion of  his  life,  "  and  that  for  which  all  his  previous  la- 
bours had  been  an  essential  part  of  his  training,"  was 
accepted  with  sincere  doubts  of  his  own  ability  to  perform 
its  duties ;  and  after  having  been  induced  so  to  do,  by  the 
warm  advice  of  friends,  to  whom  the  welfare  of  the  Church 
and  her  children  was  a  most  cherished  object.  What  his 
own  fears  and  feelings  really  were,  is  shown  in  his  letter 
of  acceptance. 

"Burlington,  K  J.;  April  22d,  1846. 

"  To  the  Board  of  Education  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

"Respected  Brethren  in  Christ:  — 

"  After  anxious  deliberation  and  prayer,  I  accept  the 

appointment  of  Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  Board  of 

Education  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  This  appointment 

1  As  an  instance  of  the  "abounding  humour,"  which  Dr.  Boardman 
mentions  in  his  discourse  as  one  of  his  most  characteristic  traits,  may 
be  cited  a  passage  from  the  diary  kept  during  the  period  of  his  agency, 
where,  after  noting  the  fact  of  his  having  presented  the  claims  of  the 
Seminary  to  a  wealthy  gentleman  in  New  York,  he  writes,  "Refused 
on  the  ground  of  his  being  opposed  to  permanent  endowments. 

"N.B.  God  had  permanently  endowed  Mm  with  over  half  a  million  of 
dollars." 


INTRODUCTORY    MEMOIR.  XXX111 

conferred  upon  me  most  unexpectedly  by  a  judgment  too 
partial,  it  is  feared,  is  undertaken  with  great  distrust  of 
my  personal  qualifications,  yet  with  an  humble  reliance 
upon  the  King  of  Kings,  for  grace  and  fidelity  to  discharge 
its  important  duties.  A  sincere  desire  to  serve  the  Church 
according  to  the  leadings  of  Providence,  has  been  the 
motive,  so  far  as  I  know  my  own  deceitful  heart,  that 
influenced  my  decision.  Gladly  would  I  have  excused 
myself  from  this  new  service,  if  I  had  dared  to  do  it.  I 
feel,  dear  Brethren  and  Fathers,  that  I  am  not  sufficient 
for  these  things.  If  the  first  announcement  of  the  ap- 
pointment filled  my  heart  with  awe  and  trembling  in  the 
presence  of  the  Lord,  subsequent  reflection  has  increased 
the  conviction  of  fearful  responsibility,  which  this  position 
in  the  Church  necessarily  incurs.  The  difficulties  in  the 
way  of  my  acceptance  of  this  trust,  were  increased  by  the 
circumstance  that  I  have  been  engaged  in  the  prosecution 
of  an  agency  for  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Princeton, 
which  I  feel  pledged  to  carry  to  its  completion,  if  God 
permits.  It  has  been  thought  that  this  effort  is  so  near 
its  accomplishment,  that  it  need  not,  except  for  a  limited 
time,  interfere  with  the  duties  of  my  new  appointment. 
My  expectation  is  that  the  Board  will  grant  me  some  in- 
dulgence in  arranging  and  settling  the  affairs  of  my  pres- 
ent agency,  previously  to  entering  fully  upon  the  duties 
of  Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  Board. 

"  I  think  also  that  it  ought  to  be  distinctly  affirmed  on 
my  part,  that  my  connection  with  the  Board  is  only  an 
experiment  for  a  year.  If,  at  the  end  of  that  time  its 
affairs  should  seem  to  require  a  better  superintendence, 
I  shall  cheerfully  yield  the  place  without  any  delay,  and 
give  the  Church  the  opportunity  to  correct  its  judgment, 
by  calling  into  the  service  a  more  competent  person.  In 
the  mean  time,  however,  I  shall  endeavour  to  devote  my 

c 


XXxiv  INTRODUCTORY    MEMOIR. 

utmost  capacity  to  promote  the  cause  of  religion  in  the 
Preshyterian  Church,  through  this  great  department  of 
Christian  effort.  And  I  earnestly  entreat  those,  who  have 
been  instrumental  in  bringing  upon  me  these  new  re- 
sponsibilities, to  remember  me  at  the  Throne  of  Grace, 
that  all  my  deficiencies  may  be  supplied,  and  that  the 
Holy  Spirit  may  dwell  in  my  heart  richly  in  all  spiritual 
wisdom  and  understanding. 

"  May  the  Lord  in  his  great  mercy,  bless  this  new  rela- 
tion to  be  formed  between  us,  and  raise  up  everywhere 
faithful  ministers  of  his  word,  through  the  agency  of  your 
Board. 

"With  sentiments  of  respect, 

"Your  fellow  servant  in  Christ. 

"CORTLANDT   VAN   RENSSELAER." 

He  resigned  his  agency  in  behalf  of  the  Princeton 
Theological  Seminary,  having  first  collected  and  placed 
in  the  hands  of  its  Directors,  one  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars, as  a  fund  for  its  permanent  endowment,  and  imme- 
diately entered  fully  into  the  duties  of  his  Secretaryship. 
It  will  only  be  stating  facts  to  say,  that  from  the  moment 
of  his  acceptance  of  this  office,  till  the  time  when  the  near 
approach  of  death  compelled  his  resignation  of  it,  he 
threw  his  whole  soul  into  the  cause  of  education ;  travelled 
for  it,  preached  for  it,  worked  for  it,  wrote  for  it :  that  he 
canvassed  the  Church  to  her  remotest  borders  for  material 
support  in  her  behalf ;  enlarged  the  scope  of  her  educational 
policy,  and  built  it  up  "  from  a  condition  of  comparative 
feebleness  to  strength  and  power."  What  value  the 
Church,  which  he  loved,  and  in  whose  service  he  laboured, 
placed  upon  his  exertions,  can  best  be  learned  from  a  let- 
ter sent  to  him  during  his  last  sickness,  from  the  General 
Assembly. 


INTRODUCTORY     MEMOIR.  XXXV 

"To  the  Rev.  Cortlandt  Van  Rensselaer,  D.D. 
"Beloved  Brother  in  Christ  Jesus:  — 

"  The  General  Assembly  has  learned  with  deep  solici- 
tude of  the  afflictive  dispensation  which  detains  you  from 
its  present  sessions.  It  has  pleased  Him  whose  "  way  is 
in  the  sea,  and  His  path  in  the  great  waters,"  to  visit  you 
with  a  painful  illness.  We  cannot  permit  you  to  suppose 
that  the  Church  which  you  have  loved  and  served  so-well 
is  unmindful  of  you  in  this  season  of  trial.  And  we  would 
do  injustice  to  ourselves  not  to  assure  you  of  our  united 
and  cordial  sympathy. 

"  We  are  well  aware  that  one  who  feels  himself  draw- 
ing near  to  eternity,  and  around  whose  couch  of  suffering 
the  light  of  that  "  better  country  "  is  shedding  its  heavenly 
radiance,  can  stand  in  no  need  of  earthly  consolations. 
Nor  would  we  offend  your  Christian  humility  by  enlarging 
upon  the  services  you  have  rendered  to  the  cause  of  Christ, 
But  we  may,  nay,  we  must  magnify  the  grace  of  God  in 
you,  which  has  wrought  so  effectually  to  the  furtherance 
of  the  Gospel  amongst  us  through  your  instrumentality. 
We  cannot  accept  your  resignation  of  the  important  office 
you  have  just  relinquished,  without  bearing  our  formal 
and  grateful  testimony  to  the  manner  in  which  its  duties 
have  been  performed.  With  devout  thankfulness  to  God, 
and  under  Him,  beloved  brother,  to  you,  we  record  our 
sense  of  the  eminent  wisdom,  fidelity  and  efficiency,  and 
the  noble  disinterested  liberality  with  which  you  have  for 
fourteen  years  conducted  the  affairs  of  our  '  Board  of 
Education.' 

"  Under  your  administration  it  has  risen  from  a  condi- 
tion of  comparative  feebleness  to  strength  and  power.  Its 
plans  have  been  matured  and  systematized.  Its  sphere 
has  been  greatly  enlarged.  It  has  assumed  new  and  most 
beneficent  functions.  Your  luminous  pen  has  vindicated 
the  principles  which  lie  at  the  basis  of  true  Christian 


XXXVI  INTRODUCTORY     MEMOIR. 

education.  And  by  your  numerous  publications,  your 
sermons  and  addresses,  your  extended  correspondence 
and  your  self-denying  activity  in  visiting  every  part  of  the 
Church,  you  have,  by  God's  blessing,  accomplished  a  great 
work  in  elevating  this  sacred  cause  to  its  just  position, 
and  gathering  around  it  the  sympathies  of  our  whole 
communion.  Nor  may  we  forbear  to  add,  that  in  prose- 
cuting these  manifold  official  labours,  you  have  greatly 
endeared  yourself  personally  to  the  ministry  and  member- 
ship of  the  Church. 

"  Rejoicing  as  we  do  in  the  auspicious  results  of  these 
unwearied  exertions,  we  mourn  this  day  the  sacrifice  they 
have  cost  us.  While  the  Church  is  reaping  the  harvest — 
a  harvest  which  we  fully  believe  she  will  go  on  gathering 
until  the  Master  comes  to  present  her  unto  himself,  a 
glorious  Church — the  workman  who  has  done  so  much  to 
prepare  the  ground  and  sow  the  seed,  falls  exhausted  in 
the  furrows.  There,  dear  brother,  we  doubt  not  you 
would  choose  to  fall  —  upon  that  field,  to  the  culture  of 
which  you  have  dedicated  your  life. 

"  On  behalf  of  the  Church  we  represent,  we  once  more 
thank  you  sincerely  and  gratefully  for  all  your  labours 
and  sacrifices.  We  lift  up  our  hearts  in  humble  and  fer- 
vent supplication  to  our  common  God  and  Father,  that 
his  presence  may  be  with  you  in  this  hour  of  trial.  We 
hear  with  joy  that  he  does  not  forget  you  ;  that  he  is  giv- 
ing you  strength  according  to  your  day ;  and  that  your 
peace  flows  like  a  river.  We  plead  with  him,  that  if  it  be 
possible,  this  blow  may  be  still  averted,  and  your  health 
restored.  But  we  desire  to  commit  you  into  his  hands. 
That  Saviour  in  whom  you  trust  will  not  forsake  you. 
The  divine  Comforter  will  comfort  you  and  yours.  Your 
covenant  God  will  be  the  God  of  your  children. 

"  To  him  the  Triune  Jehovah,  we  affectionately  com- 
mend you ;  praying  that  his  rod  and  his  staff  may  comfort 


INTRODUCTORY    MEMOIR.  XXXvii 

you  ;  and  whenever  the  summons  shall  come,  an  entrance 
may  be  ministered  unto  you  abundantly  into  the  ever- 
lasting kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ. 

"  On  behalf  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  in  session  at  Rochester,  New  York,  May  23,  1860. 
"  John  W.  Yeomans,  Moderator. 

Willis  Lord,  Stated  Clerk. 

Alexander  T.  McGill,  Permanent  Clerk. 

A.  G.  Vermilye,  Temporary  Clerk." 

In  connection  with  the  foregoing  letter,  it  will  not  be 
considered  unsuitable  to  quote,  from  the  discourses  of 
the  friends  of  his  youth  and  manhood,  some  passages 
relating  to  his  labours  as  Secretary,  and  their  effects  upon 
the  Church. 

"  In  this  service  Dr.  Van  Rensselaer  was  indefatigable. 
He  was  one  of  the  hardest- working  men  in  the  Church. 
He  worked  incessantly,  even  in  the  railroad  car  and  the 
steamboat ;  sitting  at  the  board  of  the  Directors,  or  of 
the  Trustees,  when  nothing  important  demanded  his 
attention,  you  would  find  him  busily  employed  writing 
letters,  making  extracts  from  books,  or  taking  notes  for 
future  use.  He  gave  himself  far  too  little  rest.  When 
he  assumed  the  conduct  of  the  Board  of  Education,  its 
operations  were  confined  to  the  support  of  candidates  for 
the  ministry.  He  probably  increased  his  labours  fourfold 
by  including  the  organization  and  support  of  parochial 
schools,  Presbyterial  academies,  and  Synodical  colleges. 
Not  content  with  all  this,  he  laboured  incessantly  with 
his  pen.  He  published  an  annual  volume  of  addresses 
and  discourses  on  the  general  subject  of  Education ;  he 
originated  and  conducted  a  monthly  magazine,  a  work  in 
itself  almost  enough  to  fill  the  hands  of  one  person.  He 
was  constantly  called  upon  to  preach  or  to  deliver  public 
lectures  in  furtherance  of  the  great  cause  in  which  he 
a4 


XXXV1I1  INTRODUCTORY    MEMOIR. 

was  embarked.  All  this  service  was  rendered  not  only 
gratuitously,  but  at  a  large  and  constant  pecuniary  sac- 
rifice. This  activity  continued  to  the  last.  "When  unable 
to  leave  his  house,  or  even  his  bed,  or  to  hold  his  pen, 
he  still  dictated,  and  employed  the  lust  remnants  of  his 
life  and  strength  in  devising  or  recommending  works  of 
general  utility.  He  was,  therefore,  truly  a  servant,  a 
good  and  faithful  servant,  and  he  has  now  ceased  from 
his  labours  and  entered  into  the  joy  of  the  Lord.1 

"  It  was  not  without  the  deepest  distrust  of  his  capacity 
for  the  work,  that  he  accepted  the  post ;  but  there  is  no 
one  in  our  Church  to  question,  that  he  was  '  called  of 
God '  to  engage  in  this  service.  Any  formal  review  of 
his  administration  would  be  out  of  place  here :  it  will  not 
be  attempted.  Let  it  suffice  to  say,  in  justice  both  to  the 
living  and  the  dead,  that  under  the  wise  and  efficient 
management  of  his  predecessors,  the  Board  had  entered 
upon  a  career  of  new  and  enlarged  usefulness,  and  the 
Church  was  waking  up  to  its  importance  as  an  indispen- 
sable agency  in  carrying  forward  its  plans.  Catching 
the  true  spirit  of  the  institution,  he  threw  himself  at  once 
into  the  work,  and  employed  his  noble  powers  in  foster- 
ing and  extending  it,  until  death  arrested  his  labours. 
That  he  did  more  than  any  other  man  during  the  last  four- 
teen years,  to  imbue  our  Church  with  Scriptural  views  of 
education,  to  establish  academies  and  colleges  upon  a 
sound  basis,  to  direct  the  attention  of  pious  youth  to  the 
Christian  ministry,  and  to  elevate  this  whole  subject  to 
something  of  its  true  position  in  the  affections  of  the 
Church,  will  be  conceded  on  every  side  without  argument. 

"  In  accomplishing  these  objects,  he  had  the  invaluable 
aid  of  wise  and  vigilant  colleagues,  especially  of  one 
whose  unwearied  and  efficient  devotion  to  our  educational 

1  Dr.  Hodge's  Discourse.  Presbyterian  Magazine  for  September, 
1860,  p.  391. 


INTRODUCTORY    MEMOIR.  XXxix 

interests  for  many  years,  has  won  for  him  the  lasting 
gratitude  of  the  Church.  In  discharging  the  functions 
of  his  great  stewardship,  our  brother  spared  neither  time, 
nor  labour,  nor  money.  He  wrote  and  published  nume- 
rous essays  and  addresses  in  vindication  of  what  he  held 
to  be  the  true  theory  of  Christian  training.  With  equal 
tact  and  ability  he  controverted  false  principles  which 
had  been  tacitly  incorporated  in  popular  schemes  of  edu- 
cation. He  expounded  the  true  relations  between  the 
Church  and  her  children ;  and  while  illustrating  their 
mutual  rights  and  privileges,  enforced  with  cogent  argu- 
ment their  reciprocal  duties.  He  did  much  to  rebuke 
those  derogatory  views  of  the  sacred  office  which,  to  their 
shame  be  it  spokeu,  are  entertained  by  many  parents 
who  presume  to  come  to  the  Lord's  table.  He  took  many 
a  deserving  youth  by  the  hand,  and  from  his  own  purse, 
or  through  the  kindness  of  friends,  supplied  him  with  the 
means  of  procuring  an  education.  By  his  preaching  and 
his  pen,  he  did  at  least  as  much  as  any  other  individual, 
to  raise  the  standard  of  liberality  in  the  Church,  and 
increase  the  annual  contributions  to  all  good  objects. 
But  why  continue  these  specifications?  No  inventory 
can  do  justice  to  the  subject.  What  part  of  the  Church 
has  he  not  visited  on  some  errand  of  mercy  ?  What  good 
cause  has  he  not  helped?  What  great  interest  of  the 
common  Christianity  has  not  felt  the  genial  grasp  of  his 
hand?  What  stream  of  bounty,  flowing  through  our 
land,  is  not  the  broader  or  the  deeper  because  his  feet 

have  pressed  its  margin  ? 1 

"  He  was  an  incessant  worker.  He  denied  himself  the 
relaxation  which  every  literary  and  professional  man 
requires  as  the  indispensable  condition  of  health.  Nature 
is  jealous  of  her  rights.     If  they  are  invaded,  she  may 

1  Dr.  Boardman's  Sermon.     Presbyterian  Magazine  for  September, 
1860,  p.  405. 


xl  INTRODUCTORY    MEMOIR. 

wink  at  it  for  a  time,  but  it  is  only  to  make  the  retribu- 
tion more  terrible  in  the  end.  We  feel  the  humiliation 
involved  in  this  dependence  of  mind  upon  matter,  of  the 
spiritual  upon  the  animal  nature :  and  we  sometimes  fight 
against  it  with  a  feeling  approaching  to  resentment.  But 
the  principle  is  incorporated  with  the  economy  under 
which  we  are  living.  It  came  in  with  sin,  and  it  will 
only  go  out  with  sin.  As  long  as  we  are  in  this  proba- 
tionary state,  we  must  have  the  lesson  of  abasement  con- 
stantly rung  in  our  ears,  that  the  deathless  mind  is  a 
prisoner  in  its  clay  tabernacle — a  servant  to  the  very  house 
in  which  it  dwells.  We  must  wait  for  the  resurrection- 
body,  before  we  can  escape  from  this  bondage.  Like  too 
many  others,  our  beloved  brother  contemned  this  law. 
His  ardour  in  the  Master's  cause  blinded  him  to  the  im- 
perative demands  of  his  own  physical  nature.  His  robust 
constitution  resisted  the  aggression  long,  but  at  length  it 
developed  the  germs  of  that  insidious  malady  which  car- 
ried him  to  the  grave.  We  honour  the  motives  which 
prompted  to  this  fatal  sacrifice ;  but  we  must  deplore  the 
error  which  brought  so  beneficent  a  career  to  what,  with  no 
irreverent  meaning,  we  feel  to  have  been  a  premature 
close."1  .  .  .  .  t 

"  Our  Boards  are  the  arms  of  the  Church.  The  history 
we  have  been  reviewing,  shows  what  eflicient  implements 
they  may  become,  as  well  for  developing  the  resources 
of  the  Church,  as  for  carrying  forward  its  work.  The 
Board  of  Education  cannot  revert  to  its  former  position. 
Dr.  Van  Rensselaer's  administration  has  made  it  a 
different  institution  from  what  it  ever  was  before.  And 
it  is  now  one  of  our  prime  duties,  to  see  that  it  be  pre- 
served and  perpetuated  in  all  the  amplitude  of  its  plans, 
and  all  the  energy  of  its  operations.     These  agencies  are 

1  Presbyterian  Magazine  for  September,  1860,  p.  409. 


INTRODUCTORY    MEMOIR.  xli 

too  vast,  too  complex,  and  too  vital  to  the  progress  of 
Christianity,  to  be  intrusted  to  feeble  or  unskilful  hands. 
May  it  please  God  to  raise  up  men  qualified  for  this  work 
— '  men  that  have  understanding  of  the  times,  to  know 
what  Israel  ought  to  do.'  He  alone  can  heal  our  breaches, 
and  sanctity  our  losses." ] 

It  will  be  deemed  pardonable,  I  trust,  if  some  reference 
is  made,  before  passing  to  the  closing  hours  of  his  sick- 
ness and  death,  to  my  father's  sermon  upon  the  death  of 
Bishop  Doane,  where,  after  enumerating  some  of  the 
reasons  for  the  "fearful  harshness  of  human  judgments," 
he  cautions  his  hearers  against  allowing  the  province  of 
reason  to  be  usurped  by  passion,  and  prejudice  to  take 
the  place  of  candour.  Probably  no  other  act  of  his  life 
has  subjected  him  to  such  censure ;  and  yet,  when  all  the 
circumstances  of  the  case  are  considered,  it  may  be 
doubted  whether  any  other  so  fully  proves  his  character 
for  Christian  courtesy  and  moderation.  Controversies 
upon  various  subjects — among  them  one  with  the  departed 
Bishop  himself — had  rendered  him  full  of  forbearance 
towards  those  dissenting  from  him  in  opinion ;  the  ex- 
perience of  history  had  taught  him  that,  under  no  sur- 
roundings, has  passion  a  fuller  and  freer  swing  than 
when  difference  in  religious  faith  is  accompanied  by  re- 
sentment for  pecuniary  losses ;  and  in  a  spirit  sans  peur 
et  sans  reproche,  he  forgot  polemical  antagonism  in  the 
kindliness  and  the  candour  with  which  he  strove  to  infuse 
into  the  community  that  conservative  element  which 
never  brings  "a  blood-shotten  eye  to  judgment." 

The  reproaches  of  those  who  were  authorized  to  utter 
them,  were  softened  and  balanced  by  letters  of  gratitude 
from  the  friends  of  the  distinguished  prelate.  There  are 
before  me,  as  I  write,  letters  from  bishops  and  laymen, 

1  Presbyterian  Magazine  for  September,  1860,  p.  410. 

a4* 


xlli  INTRODUCTORY     MEMOIR. 

men  and  women,  judges,  merchants,  lawyers,  civilians, 
whose  pages  are  covered  with  expressions  of  gratitude  — 
with  words  full  of  tearful  thanks  —  with  sentiments  of 
regard  for  one  whom  they  did  not  know,  but  whom  they 
esteemed  for  his  liberal  and  catholic  spirit. 

Assuming  that  those  who  censured  him,  for  his  stand 
upon  this  occasion,  were  right  in  their  opinions  (and  it  is 
not  the  province  of  the  writer  to  affirm  or  deny  their  cor- 
rectness), this  sermon  is  to  be  prized,  and  is  prized,  for 
its  expression  of  that  true-hearted  Christian  charity  with- 
out which  man  is  "nothing,"  and  which,  in  its  boundless 
scope,  "hopeth  all  things." 

But  the  time  was  coming  when  the  effects  of  his  too 
incessant  activity  and  labour  was  to  show  itself  in  weak- 
ness, sickness,  and  death.  During  the  latter  part  of 
1859  his  strength  visibly  decreased.  In  the  month  of 
December  he  was  obliged  to  confine  himself  almost  en- 
tirely to  the  house ;  and  in  February,  1860,  he  became 
convinced  that  his  life  was  in  danger,  at  which  time  he 
wrote  a  letter  to  myself,  dated  February  17th,  1860,  from 
which  the  following  are  extracts : 

"February  17th,  1860. 

"I  admit  your  right  to  speak  with  some  au- 
thority on  the  subject  of  my  too  long  neglected  health. 
And  you  did  not  transcend  the  just  bounds  of  a  son's 
privilege  in  giving  me  a  good  plain  talk.  As  long  as  I 
felt  that  I  had  strength  to  do  what  I  was  undertaking  to 
do,  I  did  not  feel  that  I  was  acting  against  my  moral  and 
physical  nature.  But  my  error  was  that  my  many  plans 
and  labours  were  gradually  and  imperceptibly  undermining 
my  general  health.  My  eyes,  through  God's  mercy,  are 
now  opened;  and  although  too  late,  probably,  ever  to 
expect  to  be  restored  to  my  former  robust  health,  yet  I 
have  fair  prospects  of  continued  life,  at  least  as  long  as 
Providence  favours  me Perhaps  they  (the  remedies 


INTRODUCTORY    MEMOIR.  xliii 

prescribed,)  may  continue  to  be  of  service,  as  they  certainly 
will,  if  God  shall  bless  them.  I  have  a  firm  faith  in  a 
superintending  Providence  and  in  the  'living  God.'  My 
hope  and  trust  are  in  Him." 

In  accordance  with  medical  advice  he  started  for  the 
South  on  the  12th  of  last  March,  in  company  with  his 
wife  and  the  writer,  in  the  hope  that  a  warm  and  mild 
climate,  even  if  it  might  not  restore  him  to  his  "  former 
robust  health,"  would,  at  least,  mitigate  his  disease  and 
prolong  his  life.  This  is  not  the  place,  nor  can  it  be  ex- 
pected that  any  detailed  account  of  his  Southern  journey, 
or  of  his  sickness  after  his  return,  should  be  given  here. 
It  would  be  unnecessary  to  mention  how  his  spirits  were 
cheered  by  the  hearty  kindness  he  experienced  from  his 
Southern  brethren  and  friends;  how  he  enjoyed  the  pe- 
culiar advantages  afforded  to  an  invalid  in  Florida  from 
the  climate  and  genial  air;1  how  the  fluctuations  of 
disease,  at  one  time  elevated,  at  another  depressed,  the 
hopes  for  his  final  recovery ;  or  how,  at  length,  he  returned 
home,  with  yearning  of  heart,  to  die  there.  It  is  sufficient 
to  say,  that  the  inexorable  malady  by  which  he  was  origi- 
nally attacked,  though  conquered  in  part,  had  terribly 
weakened  his  whole  physical  nature,  and,  in  the  end, 
precipitated  a  tuberculous  disease  in  the  lungs,  which 
refused  to  yield  to  medical  treatment,  and  whose  progress, 
from  the  exhausted  condition  of  his  strength,  was  fear- 
fully rapid. 

Shortly  after  his  return  from  the  South  he  laid  aside 
the  harness  of  the  Church,  only  when  his  shoulders  had 
become  too  weak  to  bear  its  weight,  and  resigned  the 
Secretaryship  of  the  Board  of  Education  in  the  following 
letter,  dictated  to  another,  when  his  hand  was  unable  to 
use  his  pen. 

1  He  attended  church  for  the  last  time  at  Magnolia,  Florida,  in  a 
email  church,  for  whose  erection,  if  I  mistake  not,  he  originally  con- 
tributed. 


Xliv  INTRODUCTORY     MEMOIR. 

"  Burlington,  N.  J.,  May  1,  1860. 

"  James  N.  Dickson,  President  of  the 

"Board  of  Education  of  the  Presb.  Church. 

"  My  Dear  Sir  : — It  has  become  my  duty,  in  the  provi- 
dence of  God,  to  present  my  resignation  of  the  office  of 
Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Education,  to 
which,  by  the  favour  of  the  Board,  I  have  been  elected 
for  the  last  fourteen  years,  the  resignation  to  take  effect 
at  the  Annual  Meeting  of  the  Board,  if  my  life  be  spared 
so  long. 

"The  feelings,  Mr.  President,  with  which  I  part  from 
you,  the  officers,  and  other  members  of  the  Board,  my 
associates  in  the  work  of  the  office,  our  candidates,  the 
co-operating  ministers  and  elders  in  the  Church,  and  the 
whole  cause,  in  all  its  departments,  how  can  I  ever  ex- 
press ? 

"  God  has  wisely  and  righteously  inflicted  on  me  a  se- 
vere, wasting,  and  still  progressive  disease,  and  I  have  a 
clear  conviction  that  I  obey  his  will  in  surrendering  an 
office  whose  duties  I  can  no  longer  discharge. 

"  Glory  be  to  his  name,  in  health  and  sickness,  in  life 
and  death ! 

"  With  my  affectionate  regards  to  all  the  gentlemen  of 

the  Board, 

"  I  am  your  fellow-servant  in  Christ, 

"  C.  Van  Rensselaer, 
"By  C.  L.  V.  R." 

His  frame  of  mind  during  his  last  sickness,  can  be  no 
more  truly  or  beautifully  expressed,  than  in  the  language 
of  his  friend,  Rev.  Dr.  Boardman,  who  was  with  him  fre- 
quently at  that  time. 

"  I  have  seen  death  in  various  forms.  I  have  watched 
the  progress  of  many  a  sufferer  from  the  first  stages  of  a 
mortal  disease  to  its  close.     But  his  is  the  only  instance 


INTRODUCTORY    MEMOIR.  xlv 

I  can  recall,  in  which  an  illness  prolonged  through  so 
many  months,  was  attended  with  uninterrupted  peace  of 
mind.  Almost  all  Christians  have,  in  these  circumstances, 
occasional  seasons  of  darkness  and  depression.  His  sky 
was  without  a  cloud.  I  do  not  mean  that  he  had  from 
the  first  an  absolute  assurance  of  his  union  with  Christ. 
But  he  had  such  a  hope  in  his  Redeemer  as  never  to  have 
been  left  'comfortless.'  And  this  hope  became  stronger 
and  brighter  as  he  drew  nearer  his  haven. 

"  In  the  interviews  already  mentioned,  I  spoke  to  him 
of  God's  great  goodness  in  preserving  him  from  doubts 
and  fears ;  and  said,  '  You  do  feel  assured  of  your  pardon 
and  acceptance,  do  you  not  ? '  '  Yes,'  he  replied  with  deep 
emotion,  '  blessed  be  God,  I  do.  In  the  early  part  of  my 
sickness,  I  was  in  the  habit  of  saying,  I  hope  I  have  an 
interest  in  Christ.  But  I  find  I  must  give  that  up,  and 
say,  I  Jcnozv  whom  I  have  believed,  and  am  persuaded  that 
he  is  able  to  keep  that  which  I  have  committed  unto  him 
against  that  day.'  And  thus  it  continued  to  the  close. 
There  was  no  rapture,  but  perfect  serenity  and  composure. 
Soothed  by  the  assiduities  of  true  affection — and  there  is 
no  spot  on  earth  where  affection  blooms  with  such  beauty 
and  fragrance  as  in  a  Christian  home — he  calmly  awaited 
his  summons  to  the  skies." 

It  may  be  mentioned  here,  that,  with  him,  the  interests 
of  the  Church  were,  until  death,  paramount  to  all  things. 
The  Annual  Report  of  the  Board  of  Education  for  1860, 
was  read  to  him  by  the  assistant  secretary  before  its  pre- 
sentation to  the  General  Assembly :  letters  were  written, 
and  when  that  was  forbidden,  dictated  by  him,  to  his 
brethren  in  the  clergy,  upon  the  educational  policy  of  the 
Church  and  other  topics  near  his  heart.  One,  in  particu- 
lar, commending  his  honoured  and  beloved  associate  sec- 
retary to  the  confidence  and  kindness  of  another  brother, 


xlvi  INTRODUCTORY    MEMOIR. 

was  among  the  last  expressions  of  a  friendship  which  had 
endured  for  nearly  thirty  years. 

No  suffering,  no  pain,  no  physical  grievance — nothing 
but  the  gradual  diminution  of  strength,  attended  his  dis- 
ease. On  the  twentieth  of  July,  feeling  the  hand  of  death 
near  upon  him,  he  made  the  last  disposition  of  his  worldly 
affairs,  and  calmly  awaited  the  time  to  die. 

No  change  was  noticed,  except  that  at  the  interval  of  a 
week  or  of  a  month,  until  Tuesday,  the  24th  of  July ;  and 
on  Wednesday  morning  it  was  evident,  even  to  the  eye 
of  hopeful  affection,  that  all  hope  must  be  given  up. 

About  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning  he  requested  to  be 
carried  out  into  the  back  verandah  of  his  house,  where  he 
received  the  last  summons.  At  about  eleven  o'clock,  he 
said:  "It  is  time  to  go  —  raise  me  up,"  which  was  done, 
and  portions  of  the  Scriptures  and  a  prayer  were  read 
aloud.  He  continued  thus  for  almost  ten  minutes,  when 
he  whispered  :  "lean  endure  to  the  uttermost ;"  surely 
thinking  that  his  conflict  with  Death  would  be  severe. 
But  God  was  kind  to  him,  and  laid  his  hand  gently  upon 
him.  So  quiet  and  peaceful  was  his  end,  that  the  son 
upon  whose  breast  he  was  supported,  could  not  tell  by 
any  tremor  or  sign  of  struggle,  the  precise  moment  of  his 
departure.  He  died  at  about  twenty  minutes  after  eleven, 
on  this  beautiful  summer  morning ;  resting  in  the  faith 
which  he  had  proclaimed  and  defended  through  life,  look- 
ing up  into  the  sky  of  his  home,  to  the  "Hills  from  whence 
cometh  strength." 

He  was  buried,  at  his  own  express  wish,  in  the  Rural 
Cemetery  at  Albany,  near  the  place  where  his  honoured 
father  reposes  in  his  last  resting-place. 


PLAIN     HINTS, 


W  II  I  C  H    M  A  Y    h  E    I"  S  E  F  V  L    TO    S  O  M  E 


NEW-SCHOOL    THEOLOGIANS 


BARXABAS. 


(37) 


461515 


These  "Plain  Hints"  made  no  small  stir  at  Princeton  Theologi- 
cal Seminary,  at  the  time  of  their  publication.  They  appeared  in 
Mav,  1832,  in  the  midst  of  the  Old  and  New  School  excitement. 


(38) 


P  L  A  I  X    HINTS. 


Dear  Christian  Brethren  — 

It  is  a  painful  and  humiliating  task  to  bring  to  view 
the  failings  of  any  of  our  fellow-men.  More  espe- 
cially is  it  painful,  when  those  men  are  the  public 
servants  of  Christ,  m#iistering  in  holy  things,  and 
clothed  with  the  authority  of  their  Master.  It 
would,  as  you  may  well  suppose,  be  much  more  agree- 
able to  the  feelings  of  a  Christian,  to  point  out  their 
excellencies,  and  those  characteristics,  which  might 
be  safely  recommended  for  imitation.  But  this  is  not 
my  object  at  the  present  time.  It  is  designed  to  pre- 
sent for  your  meditation  some  prominent  failings, 
which,  I  fear,  are  creeping  in,  or  have  crept  in,  "  un- 
awares ;"  and  I  wish  to  perform  this  unpleasant  task 
with  a  frank,  honest,  Christian  spirit.  You  have  not 
much  time  to  spend'  with  me  —  I  shall  therefore  be 
brief.  Consequently,  I  must  use  plainness  of  speech. 
That  I  shall  speak  the  truth,  also,  you  have  a  right 
to  expect. 

I.  Let  us  then  attend  to  some  of  the  prominent 
failings  and  practical  errors  among  the  ministers  of 

(39) 


40  PL  A  I  X     II  INT  S     TO 

tlif  Church — and  especially  among  your  own  number. 
It  is  my  design  to  speak  the  truth,  with  a  right  spirit. 
in  a  plain  manner,  and  in  a  few  words. 

1.  A  great  practical  error,  which  is  often  seen  in 
some  of  the  ministers  of  the  present  day,  is  (shall  I 
say  it?)  a  deficiency  of  Christian  humility.  V  ss, 
brethren!  it  has  pained  the  followers  of  Christ  to 
witness  in  many  of  His  ministering  servants,  a  spirit 
which  is  far  from  that  of  their  meek  and  lowly 
Master.  How  many  are  there  who  fail  to  exemplify  the 
humility  of  the  Christian  character,  and  who  seem 
scarcely  to  possess,  at  all,  this  chief  among  the  Chris- 
tian graces !  Would  that  the  number  of  such  were 
small !  It  is  fearfully  great.  This  is  an  evil  which 
is  making  alarming  progress  in  the  church ;  impeding 
the  usefulness  of  many,  and  opposing  the  growth  of 
grace  in  their  hearts.  Brethren  !  servants  of  Christ ! 
*•  humble  yourselves  under  the  mighty  hand  of  God  ;" 
1  Pet.  v.  6.  Oh  !  be  humble,  be  meek,  "serving  the 
Lord  with  all  humility  of  mind  ;"  Acts  xx.  19.  What ! 
Know  ye  not  that  an  unhumbled  spirit  is  not  the 
spirit  of  the  Gospel  ? 

2.  A  superabundance  of  contentions  spirit  is  a  fail- 
ing which,  in  these  "  perilous  times,"  is  characteristic 
of  many.  "And  there  are  that  raise  up  strife  and 
contention,"  Hab.  i.  3,  filling  the  church  with  discord, 
and  even  causing  the  contention  to  wax  so  sharp  as 
"to  depart  asunder  one  from  another."  Acts.  xv.  38. 


NEW-SCHOOL    THEOLOGIANS.  41' 

This  is  no  illusion.  Every  one  can  say  with  the 
apostle,  "  I  hear  there  are  contentions  among  you." 
1  Cor.  i.  11.  Tt  is  commonly  reported  that  there  are 
some  who  habitually  exhibit  a  contentious  disposi- 
tion. Oh!  what  a  spirit  for  the  servant  of  Christ! 
"  The  servant  of  the  Lord  must  not  strive  :"  '1  Tim. 
ii.  24.  Brethren,  put  away  contentions.  "Let  all 
your  things  be  done  witli  charity;"  1  Cor.  xvi.  14. 
How  long  will  Zion  prosper,  with  a  ministry  which 
destroys  her  peace,  and  which  causes  her  courts  to 
sound  with  commotion  ? 

3.  Too  much  disregard  ami  disrespect  for  the  opinions 
of  others  who  differ  from  you,  is  another  very  promi- 
nent error.  It  runs  throughout  the  whole  church, 
but  especially  through  some  imrts  of  it.  How  often 
do  we  hear  the  opinions  of  the  ablest  men  ridiculed 
in  the  most  heartless  manner,  and  held  up  to  public 
shame  and  contempt!  and  that,  too,  by  young  men, 
who  ought  to  know  better.  Christian  brethren,  this 
is  not  the  Way  to  advance  your  cause.  This  is  not 
the  spirit  of  the  Gospel.  No.  "  Let  each  esteem  others 
better  than  themselves ;"  Phil.  ii.  3.  "  Be  gentle  unto 
all  men,  apt  to  teach,  patient,  in  meekness  instructing 
those  that  oppose  themselves;"  2  Tim.  ii.  24.  Be  not 
"heady,  high-minded;"  2  Tim.  iii.  4.  "  Likewise,  ye 
younger,  submit  yourselves  unto  the  elder;"  1  Pet.  v.  5. 
Age  always  demands  respect,  no  matter  with  what  doc- 
trinal opinions  it  may  be  associated.  True  it  is,  "  great 
4  * 


42  PLAIN     HINTS     TO 

nun  are  not  always  wise ;  neither  do  the  aged  always 
understand"  the  truth ;  Job  xxxii.  9.  Still  it  becomes 
all  to  pay  due  deference  and  respect  to  their  superiors, 
and  not  despise  the  counsels  of  old  age.  We  ought  to 
be  ready  to  receive  the  truth  from  any  man,  and  espe- 
cially to  avoid  treating  with  contempt  opinions  which, 
after  all,  may  be  better  founded  than  our  own.  "  Me- 
ditate on  these  things;"  1  Tim.  iv.  14. 

4.  Another  characteristic  of  some  of  your  party 
is,  that  fhey  exhibit  too  much  zeal  for  their  own  canse, 
as  distinct  from  the  cause  of  Christ.  For  instance, 
some  appear  to  take  more  interest  in  the  Am.  Home 
Missionary  cause,  on  account  of  its  being  their  own 
cause,  rather  than  on  account  of  its  being  the  cause 
of  Christ.  They  storm  in  the  general  assembly,  and 
then  nothing  more  is  heard  of  them  for  a  year. 
Others  fight  for  a  particular  form  of  doctrine  much 
more  earnestly  than  they  contend  for  the  great  fun- 
damental and  essential  doctrines  of  the  Bible.  Others 
are  much  more  solicitous  for  New  School  theology, 
than  for  the  prosperity  of  the  Redeemer's  kingddkn. 
"  They  have  a  zeal  of  God,  but  not  according  to  know- 
ledge;" Rom.  x.  2.  "It  is  not  an  enlightened  zeal — 
it  is  too  often  a  zeal  that  would  exclude  others ;"  Gal. 
iv.  17.  Brethren!  be  zealous  for  your  own  cause,  if 
it  be  right — "  it  is  good  to  be  zealously  affected  always 
in  a  good  thing;"  Gal.  iv.  18.  But  be  like  Paul, 
"zealous  towards  God;"  Acts  xxii.  3. 


NEW-SCHOOL    THEOLOGIANS.  43 

5.  Another  practical  error,  is  too  much  confidence  in 
the  infallibility,  7'esistless  efficacy,  certain  "predominance, 
etc.,  of  your  opinions.  Many  seem  to  think,  that  they 
only  have  the  truth,  and  tha't  verily  "  secret  things 
belong  to  them  and  their  children."  As  regards 
others,  they  are  ready  to  exclaim  "  there  is  no  truth 
in  the  land ;"  Hos.  iv.  1,  Brethren  !  is  there  not  too 
much  overweening  confidence  here?  Have  you  right 
views  of  the  real  opinions  of  others  ?  Are  you  sure 
that  all  men,  except  yourselves,  are,  like  Pilate,  still 
obliged  to  ask.  "  what  is  truth  ?"  There  needs  much 
reformation  on  this  point.  No  one  acts  wisely  who 
deems  his  own  opinions  infallible.  Some  of  your 
doctrinal  views  are  no  doubt  correct ;  but  there  is  a 
fearful  possibility  that,  as  to  others,  you  have  not 
even  '*  the  form  of  knowledge,  and  of  the  truth ;" 
Rom.  ii.  20.  But  even  were  you  well  assured  that 
you  were  in  all  points  without  error,  this  ought  not 
to  puff  up.  "  If  any  man  think  that  he  knoweth 
anything,  he  knoweth  nothing  yet  as  he  ought  to 
know;"  1  Cor.  viii.  2.  Let  the  truth  therefore  make 
you  free  from  this  boasting  assurance.  Remember, 
too,  that  it  is  not  enough  to  have  "  the  loins  girt  about 
with  truth;"  Eph.  vi.  14.  You  must  take  the  whole 
armor  of  God,  lest,  after  all,  you  may  not  "  be  able 
to  stand  against  the  wiles  of  the  devil;"  Eph.  vi.  11. 

6.  Another  characteristic  is  too  much  confidence  in 
measures,  weans,  and  men.    There  is  a  class  who  think 


44  PLAIN     HINTS     TO 

that  the  work  of  the  Lord  must  stand  still,  unless 
certain  measures  and  means  are  employed,  and  unless 
men  of  a  certain  stamp. urge  it  forward.  This  opinion 
is  too  prevalent  in  certain  sections  of  the  Church,  and 
threatens  to  impair  its  reliance  upon  the  Lord  of 
heaven.  There  is  too  much  of  that  spirit  which  cries 
out  "I  am  of  Paul;"  1  Cor.  i.  12.  But  is  not  this 
carnal?  1  Cor.  iii.  4.  There  is  too  much  absolute 
dependence  upon  certain  measures — which  are,  beyond 
doubt,  good  in  their  way,  but  which  are  abused  be- 
yond what  is  lawful.  Many  seem  to  think  that 
everything  depends  on  measures — and  that  with  what 
measure  they  mete,  it  shall  be  measured  to  them 
again  ;  Matt.  vii.  12.  This  idea  has  no  warrant  in 
the  word  of  God.  It  is  deceptive,  of  dangerous  ten- 
dency, a  fatal  source  of  error  to  the  ignorant.  The 
Church  cannot  too  deeply  remember  that  Jehovah 
saith,  "  Cursed  be  the  man  that  trusteth  in  man,  and 
maketh  flesh  his  arm,  and  whose  heart  departed  from 
the  Lord ;"  Jer.  xvii.  5.  "  Neither  is  he  that  planteth 
anything,  neither  he  that  watereth,  but  God  that 
giveth  the  increase ;"  1  Cor.  iii.  7.  "  I  speak  as  to 
wise  men :  judge  ye  what  T  say;"  1  Cor.  x.  15. 

7.  Another  characteristic  is,  There  is  too  much 
philosophy  in  your  preachiixj.  Some  talk  in  a  very 
abstruse  way,  and  mix  up  much  metaphysics  and  phi- 
losophy with  the  simple  truths  of  revelation.  In 
many  sections  of  the  church,  we  are  sure  to  be  "en- 


NEW- SCHOOL    THEOLOGIANS.  45 

countered  by  certain  philosophers,"  Acts  xvii.  18,  who 
undertake  to  make  all  things  plain,  and  to  unravel 
the  mysterious  counsels  of  God.  They  are  "skilful 
in  all  wisdom,  and  cunning  in  knowledge,  and  un- 
derstanding science;"  Dan.  i.  4.  They  preach  much 
about  moral  government;  the  manner  of  the  Spirit's 
operation,  and  kindred  things  —  many  of  which, 
though  "hard  to  be  understood,"  2  Pet.  iii.  1G,  are 
nevertheless  darkened  by  words  "without  know- 
ledge ;"  Job  xlii.  3.  Brethren !  is  this  apostolic 
preaching?  Is  this  the  simplicity  of  the  gospel '.'  Is 
this  the  way  to  bring  men  to  a  knowledge  of  Jesus 
Christ  ?  Philosophy  is  good  in  its  place  —  especially 
the  improved  philosophy  of  the  19th  century  —  but 
in  the  pulpit,  let  there  be  no  intrusion  of  learned 
metaphysics. 

8.  There, is  too  little  open  and  unequivocal  ackmpw- 
ledgment  of  the  necessity  of  the  influences  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  Brethren!  with  some  of  you,  this  appears  to 
be  an  unwelcome  subject.  The  main  burden  of  your 
preaching  is  carried  on  without  the  Holy  Spirit.  You, 
no  doubt,  think  that  this  is  a  w&y  of  winning  souls 
to  Christ,  but  is  this  scriptural  ?  Is  it  safe  ?  Are 
you  not  in  danger  of  misleading  the  ignorant,  and 
even  the  well-informed?  Is  there  not  danger  lest 
some  shall  bring  against  you  the  appalling  accusation. 
"  we  have  not  so  much  as  heard  whether  there  be 
any  Holy  Ghost ;"  Acts  xix.   2.     This  is  an  awful 


46  PLAIN     II  INTSTO 

subject.  We  stand  upon  holy  ground.  Seriously 
consider  this  point.  Beware  of  dishonoring  God, 
even  through  a  desire  to  serve  Him.  The  influences 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  are  characteristic  of  the  Gospel ; 
John  iii.  5 ;  Gal.  hi.  2.  If  any  man  preaches  any 
other  gospel,  he  perverts  the  gospel  of  Christ. 

9.  There  is  too  much  vain  and  light  familiarity  with 
the  name  of  God — his  power — his  desires,  etc.  Many 
preach  in  such  a  manner  as  almost  to  take  the  name 
of  God  in  vain;  Ex*,  xx.  7.  They  take  awful  liber- 
ties with  the  name  of  the  Most  High —  (a  name 
which  the  Jews  dared  not  pronounce) — and  treat  of 
sacred  themes  in  the  most  irreverent  manner.  This 
is  a  harsh  and  painful  accusation;  but  "I  say  the 
truth  in  Christ,  I  lie  not;"  Rom.  ix.  1.  It  is  too 
true.  Some  preachers  are  very  fond  of  proclaiming 
ex-cathedra,  what  God  could  do,  and  what  He  could'nt 
do, — and  in  diverse  wTays,  which  it  would  be  improper 
even  to  mention,  they  unconsciously  take  alarming 
liberties  with  the  Holy  One  of  Israel !  Nothing  has 
a  more  pernicious  influence.  It  diminishes  our  reve- 
rence for  Him,  before  whom  the  angels  veil  their 
faces,  and  in  whose  sight  the  very  heavens  are  not 
clean.  It  shocks  all  the  feelings  of  holy  devotion, 
and  tends  to  banish  from  the  mind  that  sacred  and 
solemn  reverence,  which  even  to  touch  lightly  is  to 
wound.  Let  no  one  thoughtlessly  take  upon  his  pol- 
luted lips  the  name  of  the  most  high  God.     Let  no 


NEW-SCHOOL     THEOLOGIANS.  47 

one  trifle  with  the  perfections  of  the  Lord  of  Hosts. 
Let  no  one  deal  lightly  with  the  King  of  kings,  before 
whom  the  Redeemed  continually  do  cry,  "  Holy,  holy, 
holy,  Lord  God  Almighty ;'    Rev.  iv.  8. 

10.  The  facility  of  becoming  reconciled  to  God  is 
often  greatly  exaggerated, perverted,  and  rendered  highly 
delusive.  The  gospel  plan  of  salvation  is  often  re- 
presented a.s  the  easiest  system  of  practical  obedience 
that  can  be  imagined.  There  are  no  difficulties  in 
the  way.  All  that  is  to  be  done  is  to  "change  the 
governing  purpose,"  and  any  man  can  do  this  at  any 
time.  In  various  ways,  false  and  delusive  represen- 
tations are  made,  which  no  doubt  deceive  many  souls, 
and  harden  many  others.  True  it  is  that  "  all  men 
are  commanded  everywhere  to  believe  in  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,"  Acts  xvii.  30,  but  "  not  every  one  that 
saith  Lord,  Lord,  shall  enter  into  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven;"  Matt.  vii.  21.  It  requires  an  agony,  Luke 
xiii.  24  —  a  life  of  vigorous  self-denial,  Matt.  xvi.  24 
—  a  life  dependent  for  spiritual  progress  upon  God, 
John  iii.  27 — a  life  of  faith  in  the  crucified  Redeemer, 
Acts  xx.  21  —  and  of  unqualified  obedience  to  his 
commands;  1  John  ii.  4.  Oh!  how  many  a  soul  is 
deceived  by  specious  representations,  and  is  led  to  be- 
lieve itself  safe,  when  it  is  "  in  the  gall  of  bitterness 
and  bond  of  iniquity ;"  Acts  viii.  23. 

11.  The  great  doctrine  of  the  atonement,  and  of  Sal- 
vation through  a  crucified  Saviour,  is  too  much  in  the 


48  PLAIN    II INTSTO 

back-ground.  He  who  errs  on  this  point,  errs  with 
danger  to  immortal  souls.  The  atonement  is  tin- 
peculiar  doctrine  of  revelation,  and  it  therefore  has 
a  peculiar  prominence  in  the  apostolic  writings. 
"  Christ  crucified  "  was  the  great  doctrine  of  Paul ;  1 
('or.  i.  23.  Christ  was  his  life,  Gal.  ii.  20;  Phil.  i. 
21  — Christ  was  his  glory,  Gal.  vi.  13  —  Christ  his 
constant  theme ;  1  Cor.  ii.  1 ;  2  Cor.  v.  14.  If  any 
man  preached  any  other  gospel,  than  the  gospel  of 
Christ,  let  him  be  accursed;  Gal.  i.  8.  Brethren! 
It  has  often  been  observed  with  pain,  that,  of  late, 
the  doctrine  of  "  Christ  crucified "  is  not  so  promi- 
nent as  in  former  days.  It  does  not  appear  to  pos- 
sess that  conspicuous  place  in  the  system  of  some,  as 
it  does  in  the  pages  of  revelation.  Is  this  true  ?  Oh  ! 
if  it  be  so,  let  it  be  true  no  longer.  Beware  of  error 
here.  You  make  many  professions  of  apostolic 
preaching ;  but  why  do  you  differ  from  the  apostles  in 
this  fundamental  characteristic?  Abandon  not  the 
apostles  in  this  glorious  peculiarity.  Bemember  that 
"  other  foundation  can  no  man  lay  than  that  is  laid, 
which  is  Jesus  Christ;"  1  Cor.  hi.  11. 

12.  Another  feature  in  your  preaching  is,  that 
man's  ability  is  too  conspicuous  by  far.  This,  with 
many,  is  a  favorite  theme.  Man  is  represented  as 
the  sole  agent  in  the  solemn  affair  of  life  and  death — 
the  independent  arbiter  of  his  own  salvation.  This 
doctrine  is  crowded  forward,  and  brought  to  bear 


NEW- SCHOOL     THEOLOGIANS.  49 

upon  many  an  ignorant  and  unsuspecting  mind.  It 
is  a  doctrine,  which,  when  made  prominent,  counte- 
racts the  very  feeling  of  humility  and  of  entire  de- 
pendence on  God,  without  which  no  man  can  ever  see . 
eternal  life.  It  deceives  the  soul.  It  fills  it  with 
self-confidence,  and  pride,  and  a  righteousness  of  its 
own  —  which  prevents  it  from  submitting  unto  "  the 
righteousness  of  God;"  Rom.  x.  2.  Whilst  one  set 
of  men  err  sorrowfully  on  one  extreme,  some  of  you 
run  into  the  other,  making  bad  worse,  and  under- 
mining the  whole  system  of  grace. 

13.  There  is  too  much  of  violent  appeal,  and  too  little 
of  the  didactic,  in,  the  pulpit.  Some  preachers  are 
constantly  striving  to  excite,  and  to  "rouse"  the 
Church.  Their  sermons  are  full  of  denunciation,  or 
vehement  appeal,  or  inflammable  matter  of  some 
kind  or  other.  Their  motto  seems  to  be,  "  What  have 
\w  to  do  with  peace  ?"  2  Kings  ix.  19.  The  result 
is,  that  all  instructive,  didactic  discourse,  is  banished 
from  their  pulpits,  and  the  converts  to  Christ  are 
ready  to  perish  "for  lack  of  knowledge;"  Hos.  iv.  6. 
How  barren  in  the  end,  is  this  style  of  preaching ! 
How  apt  is  it  to  excite  the  mind  for  a  time,  but  to 
leave  it  blank  at  the  last !  How  much  need,  breth- 
ren, is  there  of  caution  on  this  point !  Be  more  pru- 
dent—  be  more  watchful  —  be  more  "apt  to  teach!' 

14.  There  is  too  much  preaching  from  made-up  pro- 
positions, rather  than  from  passages  of  Scripture.   Such 

5  D 


•r.(l  PL  A  J  N     HINTS    TO 

kind  of  sermons  are  sometimes  called  "motto  ser- 
mons," and  have  no  other  connection  with  the  t<  xt 
than  that  of  mere  consequents.  This  kind  of  preach- 
ing is,  beyond  doubt,  highly  useful  at  times,  but  when 
adopted  as  a  new  model  of  preaching,  it  is  dangerous 
in  a  high  degree.  It  insensibly  leads  to  a  neglect  of 
the  sacred  oracles,  and  to  a  substitution  of  human 
wisdom  in  place  of  the  divine  word.  It  throws  the 
Scriptures  in  the  back-ground.  It  gives  opportunity 
for  much  ingenuity,  and  often  for  much  edification — 
but,  as  a  characteristic,  it  is  deeply  injurious  to  the 
progress  of  truth.     Beware. 

15.  There  is  too  much  extravagance  of  mailer,  ex- 
pression, and  manner.  How  often  do  we  hear,  at  the 
present  time,  sermons  characterized  by  the  strangest 
anomalies !  Full  of  out-of-the-way  sentiments,  ex- 
pressed in  an  out-of-the-way  style,  and  ushered  forth 
in  an  out-of-the-way  manner.  We  are  sometimes  at 
a  loss  what  to  make  of  these  things.  And  our  sur- 
prise is  not  a  little  enlarged,  when,  unable  to  acqui- 
esce in  such  things,  we  are  often  accused  of  luke- 
warmness  and  enmity  to  the  cause  of  Christ.  Some 
of  your  ministers  are  utterly  at  a  fault  in  this  matter. 
They  are  so  extremely  extravagant  as  often  to  excite 
the  pleasant  emotions  of  laughter  and  mirth — and  at 
other  times,  to  rouse  up  all  the  feelings  of  the  inner 
man  in  such  a  manner,  as  to  make  every  one  ready 
to    exclaim :    "  Defend  me  from   such  preaching  as 


NEW-SCHOOL     THEOLOGIANS.  51 

that !"  We  have  every  reason  to  believe  that  this 
extravagant  style  of  preaching  is  altogether  out  of 
place,  and  derogatory  to  the  character  of  the  Chris- 
tian ministry.  The  community  is  ready  to  listen  to 
plain  preaching  and  to  pungent  preaching;  but  the 
preaching  of  extravagance,  it  has  not  yet  been  tutored 
to  endure.  This  is  a  new  style  which  the  simplicity 
of  the  gospel  does  not  sanction  —  it  is  inconsistent 
with  scriptural  sobriety— it  is  like  putting  a  new  piece 
of  new  cloth  to  an  old  garment ;   Matt.  ix.  16. 

16.  There  is  too  little  attention  paid  to  the  guarded 
statement  of  doctrine.  Home  preachers  express  their 
doctrinal  views  in  the  most  rash  and  unwarranted 
manner.  They  seem  willing  to  modify  some  of  the 
mysterious  truths  of  the  Bible,  in  order  to  secure 
man's  acceptance  of  them.  For  instance,  there  is 
nothing  mysterious,  in  the  connection  of  Adam  with 
his  posterity — the  new  heart  depends  on  a  mere  voli- 
tion— the  atonement  is  a  nn  r  ■  chibition  of  God's  dis- 
pleasure against  sin,  etc.  etc.  In  this  way,  their 
hearers  insensibly  take  up  with  loose  views  of  truth, 
and  are  prepared  to  embrace  almost  any  modification 
of  error.  Christian  brethren  !  how  long  will  you  talk 
at  random  from  the  pulpit?  how  long  will  you  give 
occasion  for  your  weaker  brethren  to  stumble  ?  Rom. 
xiv.  15 ;  how  long  will  you  unguardedly  misstate  the 
doctrines  of  revelation,  abandoning  "the  form  of 
sound  words,"  2   Tim.  i.   13,  and  preventing  many 


52  PLAIN     HINTS     TO 

from  being  "able  to  come  to  a  knowledge  of  the 
truth  ?'"  2  Tim.  iii.  7.  A  Christian  minister  ought  to 
be  peculiarly  careful  how  he  represents  Christian  doc- 
trine—  especially  in  these  days  of  loose  talking,  and 
dangerous  innovation. 

17.  There  is  too  great  a  contempt  of  formularies. 
Many  deride  the  prescribed  forms  of  their  church, 
wage  war  with  the  catechism,  and  "wax  valiant" 
against  all  articles  of  faith,  expressed  in  uninspired 
language.  In  this  way,  they  exert  a  dangerous  in- 
fluence in  unsettling  the  opinions  of  men,  and  in  pre- 
paring their  minds  for  "  every  wind  of  doctrine ;" 
Eph.  iv.  14.  There  are  some,  it  is  true,  who  impru- 
dently exalt  the  claims  of  the  catechism,  and  who  in 
their  stiff  notions  "  do  always  err ;"  but  this  is  no 
reason  why  others  should  disregard  entirely  the  old 
forms  of  the  church.  Is  there  not  some  danger  lest 
this  contempt  for  formularies  may  have  been  engen- 
dered, in  some,  by  a  departure  from  certain  articles 
therein  contained?  We  would  by  no  means  state 
this  as  a  fact,  —  but  wherefore  this  outcry  ? 

18.  Tliere  is  too  much  exclusive  claim  to  promoting 
revivals.  Now,  that  revivals  have  been  generally 
connected  with  the  exhibition  of  truth  in  a  particular 
manner,  we  fully  believe.  But  why  should  this  origi- 
nate, as  it  has  in  many  parts  of  the  church,  the  high 
claim  to  a  special  understanding  of  these  solemn  and 
mysterious  manifestations  of  the    Divine  presence? 


NEW- SCHOOL     THEOLOGIANS.  53 

It  is  not  the  fact  of  more  numerous  revivals  which 
we  dispute.  But  we  are  troubled  at  the  arrogance 
which  sometimes  attends  them.  There  is  too  much 
tendency  to  appropriate  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit  to 
particular  views  of  truth,  and  to  exclude  others  al- 
most from  the  possible  participation  of  them.  It  is 
this  self-sufficient,  arrogant  claim  which  we  would, 
if  possible,  persuade  you  to  abandon.  How  little  is 
this  like  Paul's  view !  "  Let  him  that  glorieth,  glory  in 
the  Lord;"  1  Cor.  i.  31.  "  Neither  is  he  that  planteth 
anything,  neither  he  that  watereth;  but  God  that 
giveth  the  increase;"  1  Cor.  iii.  8.  "If  a  man  think 
himself  to  be  something,  when  he  is  nothing,  he  de- 
ceiveth  himself;"  Gal.  vi.  3.  Take  heed,  brethren, 
to  your  own  selves.  Attempt  not  to  exalt  yourselves 
beyond  measure,  lest  ye  "  fall  into  the  condemnation 
of  the  devil;"  1  Tim.  iii.  6.  Ye  harm  your  fellow- 
laborers,  many  of  whom  are  active  in  the  cause  of 
Christ ;  and  are  as  prayerful,  as  laborious,  and  as  de- 
voted, as  any  of  His  servants.  Labor  with  them  in 
peace.  Make  no  invidious  comparisons.  Be  fellow- 
workers  in  advancing  the  Redeemer's  kingdom.  "  Let 
each  esteem  others  better  than  themselves ;"  Phil.  ii.  3. 
And  let  all  the  glory  be  "  to  the  King,  eternal,  im- 
mortal, and  invisible;"  1  Tim.  i.  19. 

19.    There  is  too  little  care  and  judgment  in  conducts 
ing  revivals,  and  in  pursuing  measures  designed  to  pro- 
mote them.     How  often  are  the  followers  of  Christ 
5* 


54  PLAIN     HINTS     TO 

grieved  by  the  imprudent  zeal  and  intemperate  mea- 
sures of  those  who  labor  in  revivals!  True  it  is  thai 
many  are  prejudiced  on  account  of  previous  false  im- 
pressions, and  not  a  few  are  "  stiff-necked."  But  still 
there  is  a  large  number  of  pious,  enlightened,  and 
devoted  Christians,  both  in  the  ministry  and  out  of  it, 
who  are  compelled  to  dissent  from  much  of  the  system. 
Not  that  they  are  opposed  to  revivals.  Far  from  it. 
But  must  there  be  so  many  objectionable  means  used 
in  promoting  them?  Must  there  be  so  much  impru- 
dence—  so  many  exciting  measures  —  so  much  ma- 
chinery? Don't  understand  me  as  opposing  any  of 
your  measures,  when  used  by  proper  individuals.  I 
am  fully  persuaded  that  a  revival  may  be  conducted 
by  some  of  your  most  zealous  men,  with  most  glorious 
issues,  through  the  Lord.  But  then,  how  many  hasty, 
"  heady "  men,  abuse  all  their  excellencies  !  It  is  to 
these  that  I  speak,  if  perchance  they  will  hear.  Breth- 
ren !  Be  prudent !  be  prudent  !  "  Keep  sound  wis- 
dom and  discretion;"  Prov.  iii.  21.  Beware,  lest  in 
your  zeal  to  gather  all  into  the  kingdom,  your  nets 
break,  and  your  labors  are  lost. 

20.  The  last  practical  danger  against  which  I  would 
earnestly  warn  you  is,  that  there  is  a  tendency  to  an 
extreme  in  all  tilings.  In  doctrine,  and  measures,  there 
is  danger  of  an  extreme.  All  things  are  pushed  too 
far.  The  sober  middle  ground  is  abandoned  by  too 
many.     One  moves  ad  extremum,  and    lo !    another 


NEW-SCHOOL    THEOLOGIANS.  55 

follows,  until  the  middle  ranks  are  thinned  to  an 
alarming  degree.  This  is  human  nature.  A  reaction 
will  soon  take  place.  Let  it  begin  before  more  mis- 
chief is  done.  Beware  of  going  too  far  astray,  lest 
perchance  you  may  never  return.  "  Be  vigilant;  be- 
cause your  adversary,  the  devil,  as  a  roaring  lion, 
walketh  about,  seeking  whom  he  may  devour;"  1 
Peter  v.  8. 

And  now,  Christian  brethren,  what  think  ye  of 
these  things  ?  I  have  attempted  to  warn  you  against 
a  score  of  practical  errors — and  the  number  might  be 
swelled  to  three  score  and  ten.  But  it  is  too  painful 
and  humiliating  to  enlarge.  Have  I  exaggerated  the 
account?  Have  I  set  down  ought  in  malice  ?  Have 
1  wandered  from  the  truth  and  spoken  evil  of  the 
ministers  of  Christ?  If  I  have,  forgive  me,  even  as 
you  hope  to  be  forgiven.  And  pray  that  God  also 
would  have  mercy  upon  me.  On  the  other  hand,  if 
any  of  you  recognise  any  portion  of  truth  in  what 
has  been  said,  bear  with  me,  whilst  I  attempt,  in  a 
very  brief  manner,  to  lay  before  you  some  of  the 
consequences  of  these  errors,  as  inducements  for  you 
to  abandon  them  without  delay. 

II.  Let  us,  then,  consider  some  of  the  consequences 
of  this  course  of  conduct. 

1.  The  most  obvious  consequence  is,  that  it  Injures 
the  cause  of  vital  godliness.  Clance  over  the  differ- 
ent errors  which  have  been  pointed  out,  and  tell  me 


56  PLAIN     HINTS     TO 

whether  they  are  nut  calculated  to  impede  the  pro- 
gress of  vital  piety  in  the  church.  A  want  of  humility 
— a  contentious  spirit — pride  of  opinion  —  sectarian 
zeal — a  love  of  philosophy — a  neglect  of  the  great 
(1  i  rines  of  revelation  —  an  undue  reliance  on  human 
ability — a  disposition  to  excite — extravagance — con- 
tempt of  formularies — arrogant  claims — extreme  mea- 
sures— are  these  the  omens  of  spiritual  prosperity  ? 
Oh  !  what  a  danger  of  injuring  the  cause  of  our  mas- 
ter !  Brethren,  can  ye  not  discern  the  signs  of  the 
times?  "The  sky  is  red  and  lowering;"  Matt.  xvi.  3. 
Oh!  beware  lest  the  rains  descend  and  the  floods 
come,  and  the  winds  blow  and  beat  upon  our  Zion, 
Matt.  vii.  27,  and  many  perish  in  the  waves  of  the 
Hood.  Ministers  of  the  living  God,  beware  !  Seri- 
ously consider  whether  some  of  you  are  not  doing 
something  to  injure  the  cause  of  vital  godliness.  It 
may  be  —  thou  art  the  man  ! 

2.  This  course  of  conduct  injures  the  cause  of  that 
form  of  truth  you  adcocate.  You  are  known  as  the 
advocates  of  new  views  in  theology — some  of  which 
are  probably  correct — but  concerning  all  of  which  the 
community  is  in  much  doubt.  Now,  if  these  errors 
are  some  of  the  characteristics  by  which  you  are 
known,  will  not  the  community  mistrust  your  cause  ? 
What  better  rule  is  there,  than  that  "  by  their  fruits, 
ye  shall  know  them"?  Matt.  vii.  16.  Believe  me, 
your  cause  has  already  suffered  more  from  the  ob- 


NEW-SCHOOL    THEOLOGIANS.  57 

jectionable  conduct  of  its  advocates,  than  from  any 
other  quarter.  No  cause  can  sustain  itself,  with  a 
multitude  of  such  advocates.  The  sober  sense  of  the 
community  is  against  them.  Though  truth  will  ulti- 
mately prevail,  it  never  will  prevail,  when  thus  de- 
fended by  imprudent  and  distrusted  sectarians.  If 
you  wish  your  cause  to  prosper,  change  much  of  your 
conduct.  Become  more  humble,  above  all  things. 
Be  more  kind-hearted  to  those  who  differ  from  you. 
Be  less  contentious.  Depend  more  upon  God,  and 
less  upon  yourselves.  Unless  you  do  so,  you  may 
rest  assured  that  your  cause  will  be  injured  in  the 
opinion  of  a  sober-minded  community. 

3.  This  course  of  conduct  injur-*  your  own  char- 
acter.  A  Christian  minister  ought  to  be  above  suspi- 
cion, lie  ought  to  "provide  things  honest  in  the 
sight  of  all  men,"  Rom.  xii.  17,  and  to  "abstain  from 
all  appearance  of  evil;"  1  Thess.  v.  22.  The  least 
departure  from  the  example  of  his  Master  is  vigilantly 
noticed,  and  set  down  as  a  defect  of  character.  You 
need  scarcely  wonder,  then,  that  the  character  of 
some  is  already  much  injured  in  the  estimation  of  the 
Christian  community.  Many  departures  from  the 
scriptural  standard  have  been  observed.  Can  an  ar- 
rogant, extravagant  man,  engage  in  "  holy  things," 
and  his  character  be  unimpaired?  Can  a  contentious 
minister  long  escape  the  vigilance  of  the  church  ? 
No !     He    that  wanders  from   the    true    apostolical 


58  PLAIN      HINTS     TO 

standard  is  well  known  throughout  the  community, 
and  his  character  "  suffers  loss ;"  1  Cor  iii.  15. 

4.  Your  usefulness,  as  Christian  Ministers,  is  very 
much  impeded.  This  is  very  clear.  It  is  impeded 
within  the  limits  of  your  immediate  influence  ;  and 
besides,  many  of  your  brethren  are  afraid  to  admit  you 
to  their  pulpits.  By  a  more  sober  course  of  conduct, 
your  usefulness  might  be  much  more  extensive,  both 
at  home,  and  elsewhere.     Is  this  nothing  ? 

5.  This  conduct  confirms  your  adversaries  in  their 
opinions.  Many,  without  much  examination,  arc  no 
doubt  prejudiced  against  you,  and  become  strength- 
ened in  their  views,  by  the  unaccountable  imprudence 
constantly  exhibited  by  some  of  your  number.  No 
better  course  could  be  devised  to  confirm  your  oppo- 
nents, than  to  continue  to  set  them  so  bad  an  exam- 
ple of  the  power  of  the  truth. 

6.  It  creates  unnecessary  dissensions  in  the  church. 
Many  of  the  present  ecclesiastical  strifes  might  be 
avoided  by  Christian  forbearance.  But  your  present 
course  scatters  firebrands  among  the  combustibles. 
It  provokes  controversy  —  it  arrays  many  of  your 
brethren  against  you  —  it  causes  party  to  rally  —  it 
excites,  disturbs,  exasperates,  alarms  —  as  well  it 
might.  And  whilst  these  things  continue,  when  will 
contentions  cease  from  among  you?     Ans.    Never. 

7.  It  prejudices  unbelievers,  provokes  atheism,  infi- 
delity, blasphemy,  etc.     Some  ministers,  in  their  ex- 


NEW-SCHOOL    THEOLOGIANS.  59 

cess  of  zeal,  seem  to  disregard  altogether  what  the 
world  thinks  of  them.  They  take  no  heed  to  their 
conduct,  but  move  right  on  as  bold  as  lions.  That's 
all  very  well.  But  suppose  it  does  injury  ?  Suppose 
their  denunciations,  and  measures,  and  whole  course 
of  conduct  rouse  up,  and  concentrate  the  array  of 
slumbering  infidels  —  suppose  they  prejudice  well- 
meaning,  intelligent  unbelievers  —  suppose  they  em- 
bitter the  feelings,  and  harden  the  heart  against  the 
reception  of  the  truth.  Is  all  this  nothing  ?  Must 
ministers  be  so  independent  as  to  care  not  for  the 
consequences  of  their  conduct  ?  Ought  they  not,  like 
Paul,  to  attempt  "  by  all  means,"  to  coneiliate  all 
men  ?  What  saith  the  Scriptures  ?  "  Walk  in  wis- 
dom toward  them  that  arc  without;"  Colossians  iv.  5. 
"Have  a  good  report  of  them  that  are  without;" 
1  Tim.  iii.  7.  ei  Study  to  be  quiet,  and  do  your  own 
business;'-  1  Thess.  iv.  11.  "  Be  ye  wise  as  serpents, 
and  harmless  as  doves;'    Matt.  x.  16. 

8.  It  deceives  and  ruins  souls.  There  is  great  rea; 
son  to  fear  that  some  are  excited  into  the  church,  and 
in  various  ways,  imbibe  exceedingly  loose  views  of 
the  nature  of  true  repentance.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that 
instances  of  such  awful  delusion  are  rare.  Brethren ! 
Consider  whether  or  not,  this  be  a  legitimate  conse- 
quence, of  the  style  of  preaching,  and  general  course 
adopted  by  many  of  you.     I  forbear  to  enlarge. 

9.  This    conduct  jeopardizes   the  peace  and  pros- 


60  PLAIN     HINTS     TO 

perity  of  the  Church.  It  draws  off  its  energies  from 
the  great  end  of  its  institution — the  salvation  of  souls; 
and  introduces  discussions  that  are  hostile  to  the  inte- 
rests of  a  spiritual  community.  It  is,  moreover,  in 
many  respects,  a  great  departure  from  the  established 
customs  of  the  church.  You  have  introduced  serious 
modifications  of  doctrine,  and  some  have  probably 
interwoven  with  them  much  error.  There  has  been 
a  great  disturbance  of  the  elements.  Many  even 
imagine  that  the  old  sanctuary  has  been  invaded  by 
unhallowed  feet.  The  community  is  full  of  excite- 
ment and  alarm,  —  and  in  such  a  distracted  state  as 
seriously  to  threaten  its  spiritual  welfare.  Kash, 
overbearing  conduct,  attended  by  persevering  innova- 
tions, is,  therefore,  at  this  crisis,  dangerous  in  the  ex- 
treme. Some  have  done  already  too  much  to  injure 
the  prosperity  of  Zion — and  its  peace — is  peace  yet 
within  her  walls  ?  Every  sober  observer  of  the  times 
must  tremble  for  the  ultimate  consequences  of  con- 
duct which  has  already  wrought  so  much  mischief 
in  the  church. 

10.  This  course  of  conduct  is  not  followed,  in  the 
Jong  run,  by  its  expected  advantages.  It  is  difficult  to 
enumerate  the  ultimate  advantages  of  extravagance, 
contention,  loose  preaching,  an  exclusive  spirit,  and 
such  characteristics.  They  can't  do  any  good.  Are 
they  not  a  real  injury?  Do  they  not  prevent  the 
exercise  of  just  so  much  sober,  useful  effort?     They 


NEW-SCHOOL     THEOLOGIANS.  Gl 

do  no  good  to  yourselves,  but "  contrariwise."  Do  they 
any  good  to  others  ?  What  good  ?  Might  not  the 
same,  and  is  not  the  same,  and  much  more  good  ac- 
complished by  others,  who  pursue  a  different  course  ? 
There  is  very  great  reason  to  believe  the  course  of 
some,  so  far  from  being  attended  by  its  anticipated 
advantages,  is,  in  reality,  every  way  injurious. 

Brethren !  in  view  of  some  of  these  consequences, 
which  might  easily  be  extended,  let  me  ask  are  none 
inclined  to  pause  ?  Are  you  willing  to  persevere  in 
spite  of  all  the  warnings  of  your  brethren,  and  the 
bad  consequences  which  have  manifestly  followed  the 
career  of  many  ?  Are  you  inclined  to  desist,  or  are 
you  even  doubtful  what  it  is  your  duty  to  do  ?  Or 
do  you  ridicule  these  things  ?  Bear  with  me,  then,  a 
little  longer,  whilst  I  attempt,  as  a  Christian  friend, 
to  lay  before  you  some  of  the  causes  which  may  have 
had  some  influence  in  introducing  some  of  these  evils 
in  the  church. 

III.  Let  us  then  candidly,  but  very  briefly  inquire 
into  the  cause*,  which  have  produced  errors,  leading 
to  such  dangerous  consequences. 

1.  A  want  of  communion  with  God.  This  is  the 
source  of  much  of  our  difficulties.  Some  of  our  min- 
isters are  not  those  prayerful,  spiritually  minded  men, 
who  live  as  if  they  were  "  strangers  and  pilgrims  on 
the  earth ;"  Heb.  xi.  13.  They  do  not  cultivate,  as 
they  ought,  communion  with  God  and  their  Saviour. 
6 


62  PLAIN     HINTS     TO 

They  do  not  live  and  walk  under  the  influence  of  the 

Holy  Spirit.  Oh!  how  are  we  all  deficient  here! 
This  deficiency  easily  develops  itself.  Is  it  not  owing 
to  this,  that  there  is  so  much  bitterness  and  unchris- 
tian feeling  in  the  church?  "For ye  are  yet  carnal  : 
for  whereas  there  is  among  you  envying,  and  strife, 
and  divisions,  are  ye  not  carnal,  and  walk  as  m< 
1  Cor.  iii.  3.  Ts  it  net  owing  to  tins  that  there  is  so 
much  lighl  and  trifling  familiarity  witli  the  name  of 
God,  and  sacred  tilings  ?  Does  not  this  account  for 
the  self-sufficiency,  extravagance,  and  all  the  kindred 
failings  of  some  of  our  ministers?  Brethren!  "Ex- 
amine  yourselves  —  prove  your  own  selves."  2  Cor. 
xiii.  5. 

2.  The  depravity  and  deceitfulness  of  your  own 
hearts.  Ministers  are  fallible  men,  prone  to  err,  and 
to  deceive  themselves.  Their  voluntary  depravity 
admits  of  no  excuse,  they  being  the  judges.  It  leads 
them  astray  from  God  and  the  path  of  duty.  "  From 
whence  come  wars  and  fightings  from  among  you  ?" 
The  question  is  as  easily  answered  as  asked.  Con- 
sult every  page  of  Scripture,  and  the  honest  convic- 
tions of  conscience.  Cannot  most  of  the  disorders 
of  the  church  be  too  well  accounted  for  on  the  prin- 
ciple which  Jeremiah  laid  down?    Jer.  xvii.  9. 

3.  An  honest  zeal  for  the  truth  leads  many  astray. 
It  is  not  the  first  time  that  good  intentions  have  pro- 
duced bad  consequences.     Many  ministers  of  the  pre- 


NEW- SCHOOL     THEOLOGIANS.  63 

sent  day.  with  the  very  purest  motives,  and  the  most 
honest  and  ardent  desire  of  doing  good,  are  carried 
away  into  rash  and  imprudent  conduct.  Their  zeal 
prevents  them  from  keeping  "  the  paths  of  judgment ;" 
Prov.  ii.  8. 

4.  A  false  zeal  for  your  oum  cause  leads  many  into 
devious  piths.  This  sectarian  zeal  occasions  not  a 
little  trouble.  It  is  generally  warm  as  a  firebrand. 
It  excites  bad  feeling,  championism,  and  all  the  sad 
attendants  of  a  misguided  and  perverted  enthusiasm. 
Guard  against  this  furious  spirit; — Read  2  Kings,  Oth 
and  10th. 

•").  Another  cause  of  sundry  failings  is  a  limited  ac- 
quaintance  with  human  nature.  Ministers  are  very 
often  very  ignorant  of  those  with  whom  they  have  to 
do.  They  understand  men  as  single  individuals,  much 
better  than  as  members  of  society,  sustaining  rela- 
tions, each  with  another.  Hence,  in  their  intercourse 
with  others,  and  in  their  efforts  to  do  good,  they  often 
fail.  Some  think  they  can  succeed  without  the  aid 
of  others,  and  accordingly  treat  them  with  cold  in- 
difference. Some  think  that  the  customs  of  society 
are  foolish,  and  accordingly  trample  upon  them.  Some 
think  that  the  best  way  to  advance  a  cause  is  to  be 
noisy,  self-sufficient,  overbearing.  In  various  ways, 
this  limited  acquaintance  with  human  nature  displays 
itself,  and  works  mischief. 

6.    The  opinion*  and  philosophy  of  your  opponents, 


64  PLAIN     HINTS     TO 

the  old  style  of  preaching,  etc.,  have  an  undue  influence 
in  urging  many  beyond  proper  bounds.  You  think 
you  have  the  truth,  and  are  in  possession  of  the  most 
efficacious  mode  of  preaching  the  word.  In  your 
opponents  you  see  much  that  detracts  from  the  full 
power  of  the  gospel.  Some  of  them  express  their 
opinions  in  such  a  harsh,  ultra- Augustinian  style,  and 
preach  with  such  dull,  frozen,  orthodox  formality, 
that  you  involuntarily  err  on  the  opposite  extreme. 
Hence  you  are  unguarded  in  stating  doctrines,  ex- 
travagant in  your  expressions,  violent  in  your  preach- 
ing, sectarian  in  your  spirit,  etc.  etc.  These  things 
ought  not  so  to  be.  Let  not  the  failings  of  others 
cause  you  to  stumble,  but  rather  let  them  teach  you 
useful  lessons,  and  keep  you  in  the  right  path. 

7.  The  conduct,  fierce  opposition,  unchristian  mis- 
representation, etc.,  of  some  of  your  opponents,  may  ac- 
count for  some  of  the  same  spirit  in  some  of  you. 
You  are  held  up  to  the  world  as  Pelagians,  accused 
of  sundry  heresies,  and  in  various  ways  persecuted  by 
some,  "  beyond  measure."  This  has  led  many  to  arm 
in  self-defence;  but  they  have  neglected  to  put  on 
the  armor  of  God.  Recrimination  has  followed  ac- 
cusation, and  mutual  invective  has  caused  Zion  to 
mourn.  Brethren  !  ye  should  "  walk  charitably ;'" 
Rom.  xiv.  15.  Be  no  longer  led  astray  by  the  follies 
of  others,  but  "  let  your  moderation  be  known  of  all 
men ;"  Phil.  iv.  5. 


NEW- SCHOOL    THEOLOGIANS.  65 

8.  The  peculiarity  of  some  of  your  doctrinal  views 
may  be  a  cause  of  some  of  your  practical  errors. 
Your  views  may  be  wrong,  although  you  may  so  con- 
fidently think  them  right.  Those  of  some  of  you  are 
in  all  probability  wrong.  Do  not  these  lead  you  into 
errors  of  conduct  ?  Or  is  it  no  matter  what  a  man 
believes  ? 

9.  The  imprudent  example  of  some  of  the  chief  men 
of  your  party  is  a  cause  of  many  going  astray.  Some 
of  your  most  influential  ministers  do  unquestionably 
go  beyond  all  unreasonable  bounds.  And  this  un- 
questionably leads  others  to  do  the  same.  Where 
will  this  end  ?  If  we  have  a  generation  of  such  men, 
will  Zion  prosper  ?  Ought  not  the  younger  brethren 
to  beware  lest  they  follow  the  blind?  Luke  vi.  39. 
It  is  to  be  feared  that  many  have  been  injured  by  the 
imprudent  example  of  some. 

10.  Too  little  love  to  God  and  to  His  cause,  is  the 
fruitful  source  of  present  evil  to  the  church.  How 
much  is  it  to  be  feared  that  many  ministers  are  defi- 
cient in  the  primary  qualifications  for  their  great 
work !  Need  we  wonder  that  some  depart  from  the 
humble,  and  self-denying  example  of  their  Master, 
when  they  do  not  appear  to  possess  the  real  spirit  of 
the  gospel  ?  Brethren — is  the  love  of  God  predomi- 
nant in  your  heart?  Do  you  love  the  Lord  your  God 
with  all  your  heart,  and  with  all  your  soul,  and  with 
all  your  mind,  and  with  all  your  strength?  Mark 

6*  E 


66  PLAIN    HINTS     TO 

xii.  30.  Do  you  sincerely  love  the  cause  of  God,  so 
as  to  prefer  Jerusalem  above  your  chief  joy  ?  Psalms 
cxxxvii.  6.  Oh  !  examine  well  your  hearts  !  What 
carefulness  should  be  wrought  in  you ;  yea,  what 
clearing  of  yourselves ;  yea,  what  fear ;  yea,  what 
vehement  desire;  yea,  what  zeal;  2  Cor.  vii.  11.  If 
our  ministry  was  more  devoted  and  spiritually  minded, 
would  we  hear  of  so  much  commotion,  and  dissatis- 
faction, and  insubordination  in  the  church  ?  Is  there 
not  utterly  a  fault  here  ?  And  what  else  is  the  cause 
of  it,  unless  it  be  a  want  of  fervent,  sincere,  heartfelt 
love  to  God,  and  to  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  ? 

I  have  thus,  Christian  brethren,  attempted  to  point 
out  some  of  the  causes,  which,  there  is  reason  to  fear, 
have  had  a. fatal  influence  on  the  minds  of  some,  in 
causing  them  to  err.  You  have  already  been  called 
to  view  some  of  the  errors  which  may  have  been  more 
or  less  connected  with  these  causes,  together  with 
their  injurious  consequences  to  the  church.  The 
whole  subject  is  now  left  for  your  own  candid  conside- 
ration ;  and  may  God  grant  His  Spirit  to  enlighten, 
and  His  wisdom  to  direct. 

In  conclusion,  let  me  ask  you,  Christian  brethren, 
with  what  feeling  have  you  read  these  pages  ?  Have 
you  felt  a  self-sufficient,  and  confident  assurance,  that, 
as  for  yourself,  you  are  exempt  from  any  of  these 
failings?     Then  there  is  reason  to  believe  you  are 


NEW-SCHOOL     THEOLOGIANS.  67 

under  their  influence.  There  is  every  probability 
that  you  are  the  very  man  who  ought  to  take  heed 
to  them.  Examine  again.  Be  honest.  Let  not  the 
adversary  triumph  over  you,  and  take  you  "  captive 
at  his  will;"  2  Tim.  ii.  26. 

But  perhaps  you  belong  to  a  party,  whose  errors 
have  not  been  pointed  out.  Don't  embrace  the  delu- 
sion that  the  "  strictest  sect"  is  infallible.  Think  not 
to  say  within  yourselves,  "  we  have  Abraham  to  our 
father;"  Matt.  hi.  9.  Reflect  how  far  your  own  con- 
duct may  have  contributed  to  drive  others  to  an  ex- 
treme, and  to  injure  the  cause  of  your  Master.  But 
I  feel  no  disposition  to  enlarge.  Permit  me,  merely 
to  say,  that  if  you  have  read  over  the  errors  of  your 
brethren  with  a  feeling  of  complacency,  and  without 
deep  sorrow  of  heart,  it  is  a  very  bad  sign. 

But  perhaps  some  unbeliever,  or  scoffer,  may  fall 
across  these  pages.  My  dear  friend !  amuse  not  your- 
self with  the  faults  of  others.  Unless  you  repent  of 
your  own,  you  will  certainly  perish ;  Acts  hi.  19.  "If 
the  righteous  scarcely  be  saved,  where  shall  the  un- 
godly and  the  sinner  appear?"  1  Pet.  iv.  18. 

Finally ;  how  much  reason  have  all  for  humility, 
and  for  sincere  repentance  before  God !  Is  it  not  a 
cause  of  deep  humiliation  that  the  ministry  of  Christ 
is  so  worldly-minded,  so  beset  with  error,  and  so  little 
devoted  to  the  cause  of  their  Master !     Let  all,  there- 


68  PLAIN     HINTS. 

fore,  humble  themselves  under  the  mighty  hand  of 
God,  1  Pet.  v.  6,  and  earnestly  strive  that  the  same 
mind  may  be  in  them  which  was  also  in  Christ  Jesus ; 
Phil.  ii.  5. 

May  the  Lord,  in  his  mercy,  have  mercy  on  us  all, 
and  to  His  name  shall  be  the  glory  forever. 


DANIEL    WEBSTER. 


1  69  | 


An  Address,  delivered  before  the  citizens  of  Burlington,  N.  J.,  at 
the  City  Hall,  November  4th,  1852. 


(70) 


EULOGY  ON  DANIEL  WEBSTER 


Friends  and  Fellow-citizens  : 

New  Jersey,  with  her  sisters  of  the  Confederacy, 
stricken  in  Providence,  mourns  at  the  grave  of 
Daniel  Webster. 

As  one  of  the  "old  thirteen," — ever  dear  to  the 
departed  statesman,  —  New  Jersey  claims  to  partici- 
pate in  his  obsequies.  The  achievements  on  our  soil 
were  often  the  theme  of  his  glowing  praise.  Trenton, 
and  Princeton,  and  Monmouth,  were  fields,  whose 
memories  of  renown  were  cherished  by  him  as  dearly 
as  those  of  Lexington,  and  Concord,  and  Bunker 
Hill.  Our  own  honored  Richard  Stockton,  too,  was 
his  intimate,  personal  friend ;  and  the  equally  distin- 
guished son,  New  Jersey's  high-souled  Senator  in 
Congress ;  and  Frelinghuysen,  gracing  literature  with 
the  laurels  won  in  the  halls  of  legislation.  Nor  can 
it  be  forgotten  that  the  last  cause  at  the  bar,1  argued 
by  the  giant  lawyer-statesman,  was  in  our  own  Capi- 
tal, on  the  banks  of  the  Delaware,  in  the  presence  of 

1  The  case  of  Goodyear  vs.  Day,  the  celebrated  Patent  case, 
argued  at  Trenton. 

(71) 


72  EULOGY    ON 

our  great  men,  and  in  sight  of  the  records,  the  sta- 
tutes, and  the  heraldry  of  New  Jersey. 

In  the  town  of  Marshfield  is  a  sepulchre,  inscribed 
with  the  name  of  Daniel  Webster.  Death,  like  truth, 
is  severe  in  its  simplicity.  A  few  letters  tell  its  tri- 
umph ;  a  little  dust  is  its  victory.  That  noble  form, 
lately  animated  with  life,  lies  in  silence  amidst  earth 
and  graves.  Quenched  is  the  full  eye  which  delighted 
in  the  researches  of  knowledge,  in  the  glance  of  the 
stars  of  heaven,  in  the  woods,  and  fields,  and  streams, 
and  sea,  in  the  countenances  of  listening  men,  and  in 
the  pleasant  charms  of  a  rural  home.  He  has  gone. 
With  his  friendship,  his  learning,  his  eloquence,  his 
love  of  country,  his  genius,  his  wealth  of  public  ser- 
vice, Webster  has  gone  down  to  the  grave. 

At  this  season  of  national  bereavement,  it  is  a  duty 
and  a  privilege  to  attempt  to  gather  up  some  of  the 
materials  which  make  his  memory  a  precious  inherit- 
ance of  our  own  and  of  future  generations.  In  giving 
method  to  the  present  Address,  it  is  proposed  to  offer 
some  account  of  Mr.  Webster's  early  youth ;  to  form 
an  estimate  of  his  public  life  and  services ;  to  con- 
sider his  social  and  religious  character,  and  death; 
and  to  unfold  some  of  the  lessons  to  be  learned  at  his 
grave. 

I.  The  youth  of  Daniel  Webster  has  a  congruity 
of  promise  and  of  excellence,  which  it  is  pleasing  to 
record.     From  the  solemn   grave  of  the  illustrious 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  /O 

departed  on  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic,  let  us  turn  to 
his  birthplace  among  the  hills  of  New  Hampshire. 

God's  sovereignty,  exercised  throughout  the  earth, 
was  seen  in  the  town  of  Salisbury,  N.  H.,  where  was 
born  one  of  the  greatest  of  men.  Amidst  the  rude, 
majestic  scenery  of  nature ;  the  son  of  reputable  and 
pious  parents ;  far  away  from  the  scenes  of  wealth 
and  turmoil;  Daniel  Webster,  a  creation  of  God, 
entered  the  world.  In  the  year  1782,  thousands  of 
children  were  born,  but  the  pre-eminent  among  them 
was  the  son  of  Ebenezer  and  Abigail  Webster.  Nor 
since  the  18th  of  January,  of  that  year,  has  there 
appeared  on  earth  an  intellect,  whose  towering  ma- 
jesty has  reached,  in  the  range  of  human  elevation, 
the  aerial  height  of  this  New  Hampshire  child.  God, 
in  his  sovereignty,  gave  that  mind  to  that  human 
being,  arranged  the  time  and  circumstances  of  his 
birth  ;  ordered  for  him  the  training  and  the  memories 
of  a  blessed  home ;  and  carried  on  the  designs  of 
Providence  in  his  future  career  of  usefulness  and 
fame. 

It  was  fit  that  a  child  of  God's  predestined  great- 
ness, should  be  consecrated  to  the  service  of  his 
.Maker.  On  "Meeting-House  Hill"  stands  the  old 
Puritan  Church,  where  "the  rude  forefathers"  met 
to  worship  the  King  of  kings.  It  is  a  bright  and 
beautiful  morning,  according  to  tradition,  when  Ebe- 
nezer and  Abigail  Webster  set  out  for  the  house  of 
7 


74  EULOGY    ON 

God,  accompanied  by  their  children,  and  carrying 
their  new-born  infant  for  the  holy  rite  of  baptism. 
The  Rev.  Jonathan  SearJe,  the  minister  of  the  parish, 
dressed  in  the  robes  of  the  olden  time,  is  at  his  post, 
in  the  high,  magisterial  Puritan  pulpit.  After  prayer, 
the  reading  of  the  Word,  and  a  hymn,  the  sacrament 
is  to  be  administered.  The  young,  mysterious  infant 
is  brought  forward,  no  one  knowing  or  dreaming 
"  what  manner  of  child  this  was  to  be;"  the  vows  are 
taken;  and  in  the  presence  of  God,  and  angels,  and 
witnessing  men,  Daniel  Webster  was  baptized  "in 
the  name  of  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy 
Ghost." 

That  old  church  has  long  since  crumbled  into  ruin. 
Minister,  parents,  and  child  are  also  now  in  the  dust ; 
but  the  ceremonies  of  that  day  have  an  interest  which 
yet  lingers  around  the  old  "  Meeting-House  Hill." 

Daniel  Webster  is  indebted,  under  God,  to  nothing 
more  than  to  his  youthful  training.  Without  this,  he 
would  have  been  a  wreck,  cast  up  and  torn  to  pieces, 
in  early  dishonor,  upon  the  terrific  precipices  of  human 
passion.  For  the  elevation  of  his  public  sentiments, 
for  the  integrity  of  a  long  career,  for  w  hatever  of  re- 
straint was  experienced  in  social  life,  and  whatever  of 
solace  hovered  around  his  dying  bed,  he  was  under 
obligations  to  the  honored  and  beloved  parents  who 
were  the  guardians  of  his  childhood  and  youth. 

His  first  teacher  was  his  mother.     Other  children 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  75 

had  she  already  nursed  and  taught ;  but  the  youngest 
boy  was  the  darling,  and  she  prophesied  great  things 
of  her  Daniel.  There  she  sits,  in  her  quiet  home, 
with  the  young  child  on  her  knee,  teaching  him  the 
letters  of  the  alphabet,  and  telling  him  how  great 
and  good  is  God.  It  has  been  said  that  the  extraor- 
dinary genius  of  the  future  statesman  descended  from 
the  maternal  line ;  and  it  is  certain  that  Mrs.  Web- 
ster was  a  woman  of  uncommon  intellect,  of  warm 
affections,  of  true  piety,  and  of  commanding  influence 
in  her  household.  It  is  nevertheless  true  that  the 
father  was  also  an  eminent  man,  both  in  public  and 
private  life.  Daniel  thus  writes  of  his  father,  thirty 
years  after  he  had  been  in  the  grave :  "  He  had  in 
him  what  I  recollect  to  have  been  the  character  of 
some  of  the  old  Puritans.  He  was  deeply  religious, 
but  not  sour ;  on  the  contrary,  good-humored,  faceti- 
ous, —  showing,  even  in  his  age,  with  a  contagious 
laugh,  teeth  all  white  as  alabaster, — gentle,  soft,  play- 
ful ;  and  yet  having  a  heart  in  him  that  he  seemed 
to  have  borrowed  from  a  lion.  He  could  frown  (a 
frown  it  was)  ;  but  cheerfulness,  good  humor,  and 
smiles,  composed  his  most  usual  aspect." 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  parents'  nurture 
of  their  son  left  its  influence  upon  all  his  future  life. 
The  Hon.  Eufus  Choate  alludes  to  "  that  training  of 
the  giant  infancy  on  Catechism  and  Bible,  and  Watts  s 
version  of  the  Psalms,  and  on  the  traditions  of  Ply- 


76  EULOGY    ON 

mouth  and  Fort  William  Henry,  and  the  age  of 
Washington  and  Franklin."  All  that  father  and 
mother  could  do,  to  bring  up  their  child  in  the  true 
principles  both  of  Church  and  of  State,  was  done  by 
these  pious,  republican  parents.  The  glorious  doc- 
trines of  the  Bible,  and  the  ennobling  truths  of  public 
liberty,  were  the  seed  sown  into  the  furrows  of  his 
mighty  soul. 

On  the  easterly  side  of  the  road,  a  short  distance 
from  the  family  mansion,  between  two  buttonwoods, 
stood  the  log  schoolhouse,  taught  by  Thomas  Chase. 
Here  the  future  statesman  commenced  his  public  edu- 
cation. Reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic,  with  in- 
struction in  the  Bible  and  Catechism,  formed  the 
grand  outlines  of  an  old-fashioned,  New  England  edu- 
cation. Like  the  hills  of  New  Hampshire,  these  con- 
stitute the  granite  range  of  the  soil,  from  whence  flow 
the  tributaries  and  the  rivers  of  future  acquisition. 

Into  the  log  school  of  Salisbury  the  little  boy  with 
a  high  forehead  and  black  eye  went  daily  to  obtain 
the  rudiments  of  an  English  education.  The  hand 
that  is  learning  to  write  in  the  rude  copy-book  is  at 
some  future  day  to  draw  up  our  grandest  documents 
of  State,  and  to  sign  treaties  with  foreign  powers. 
Here  were  acquired  those  pure  Saxon  words  which 
were  to  become  the  regalia  of  a  king  of  orators ;  here 
the  reading,  which  opened  to  his  clear  intellect  the 
stores  of  ancient  and  professional  knowledge;  here 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  77 

the  early  taste  for  thoroughness  and  simplicity.  How 
great  has  been  the  influence  of  the  schoolhouses  of 
New  England  in  training  up  generations  for  useful- 
ness in  Church  and  State,  and  for  the  sacred  duties 
of  domestic  life !  Happy  for  Daniel  Webster  that 
the  schoolmaster  was  abroad  in  his  day !  Long  may 
the  common  schools  of  our  land  flourish,  with  en- 
larged blessings  for  the  people ;  and  may  they  never 
teach  human  learning  to  the  exclusion  of  the  higher 
knowledge  of  Christ ! 

Agricultural  pursuits  had,  in  after  life,  an  absorb- 
ing influence  on  Mr.  Webster.  Where  did  he  acquire 
his  fondness  for  engaging  in  the  cultivation  of  the 
field,  and  his  skill  in  successfully  managing  the  farm  ? 
Where  else  than  on  the  old  homestead  ?  He  used  to 
follow  the  horse  in  the  plough,  was  taught  to  handle 
the  sickle,  knew  how  to  rake  and  stack  hay,  drove 
the  cows  to  pasture  in  the  morning,  and  home  again 
at  night ;  in  short,  he  was  trained  from  a  boy  to  do 
the  work  of  a  farm,  and  he  never  ceased  to  love  these 
joyous  and  hearty  occupations  of  his  youth.  The 
old  Salisbury  fields  were  the  agricultural  school  where 
he  became  imbued  with  the  taste  and  knowledge 
which  afterwards  made  him  a  farmer  of  the  highest 
grade,  both  in  science  and  in  practice. 

Agriculture,  as  an  occupation,  has  a  useful  influence. 
It  gives  a  practical  direction  to  the  mind ;  it  culti- 
vates habits  of  industry ;  promotes  self-reliance  and 
7  * 


78  EULOGY    ON 

independence ;  gives  hardihood  to  the  frame ;  fosters 
the  attachment  of  home,  and  brings  God  and  his  pro- 
vidence into  a  peculiar  kind  of  contact  with  every- 
day life.  Deem  not  the  farm-work  of  this  boy  an  un- 
important affair  of  his  early  days !  Among  humble 
and  pious  farmers,  he  is,  with  them,  getting  good  and 
doing  good. 

"  Oft  did  the  harvest  to  their  sickle  yield, 

Their  furrow  oft  the  stubborn  glebe  has  broke  ; 
How  jocund  did  they  drive  their  team  a-field ! 

How  bowed  the  woods  beneath  their  sturdy  stroke  ! 

"  Let  not  Ambition  mock  their  useful  toil, 
Their  homely  joys,  and  destiny  obscure ; 
Nor  Grandeur  hear,  with  a  disdainful  smile, 
The  short  and  simple  annals  of  the  poor." 

No  !  On  that  retired  farm,  there  is  one  who  will 
arise  to  a  grandeur  of  fame,  which  the  ambition  of 
few  will  be  bold  enough  to  aim  at.  He  will  be  heard 
of  again  at  Washington  !  He  will  be  heard  of  at 
Marshfield  ! 

The  following  is  Mr.  Webster's  own  account  of  the 
circumstances  which  resulted  in  his  going  to  Exeter 
Academy,  a  celebrated  institution,  founded  in  1781 
by  the  liberality  of  John  Phillips,  LL.  D. : 

"  On  a  hot  day  in  July,  — it  must  have  been  one  of  the  last 
years  of  Washington's  administration, — I  was  making  hay  with 
my  father,  just  where  I  now  see  a  remaining  elm  tree,  about  the 
middle  of  the  afternoon.  The  Hon.  Abiel  Foster,  M.  C,  who 
lived  in  Canterbury,  six  miles  off,  called  at  the  house,  and  came 
into  the  field  to  see  my  father.     He  was  a  worthy  man,  college 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  79 

learned,  and  had  been  a  minister,  but  was  not  a  person  of  any 
considerable  natural  powers.  My  father  was  his  friend  and  sup- 
porter.    He  talked  awhile  in  the  field,  and  went  on  his  way. 

"  When  he  was  gone,  my  father  called  me  to  him,  and  we  sat 
down  beneath  the  elm,  on  a  hay-cock.  He  said,  '  My  son,  that 
is  a  worthy  man,  —  he  is  a  member  of  Congress,  —  he  goes  to 
Philadelphia,  and  gets  six  dollars  a  day,  while  I  toil  here.  It  is 
because  he  had  an  education,  which  I  never  had.  If  I  had  had 
his  early  education,  I  should  have  been  in  Philadelphia  in  his 
place.  I  came  near  it,  as  it  was.  But  I  missed  it,  and  now  I 
must  work  here.'  '  My  dear  father,'  said  I,  'you  shall  not  work 
Brother  and  I  will  work  for  yon,  and  wear  our  hands  out,  and 
you  shall  rest,'  —  and  I  remember  to  have  cried,  and  I  cry  now, 
at  the  recollection.  '  My  child,'  said  he,  '  it  is  of  no  importance 
to  me  ;  I  now  live  but  for  my  children  ;  I  could  not  give  your 
elder  brother  the  advantages  of  knowledge,  but  I  can  do  some- 
thing for  you.  Exert  yourself — improve  your  opportunities  — 
learn  —  learn  —  and  when  I  am  gone,  you  will  not  need  to  go 
through  the  hardships  which  I  have  undergone,  and  which  have 
made  me  an  old  man  before  my  time.' 

"  The  next  May  he  took  me  to  Exeter  to  the  Phillips  Exeter 
Academy,  and  placed  me  under  the  tuition  of  its  excellent  pre- 
ceptor, Dr.  Benjamin  Abbott,  still  living." 

Mr.  Webster  entered  Phillips's  Academy  in  May, 
1796,  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  and  remained  there  nine 
months.  He  greatly  endeared  himself  to  Dr.  Abbott, 
and  made  considerable  progress  in  the  acquisition  of 
the  Latin  language,  in  composition,  and  in  declama- 
tion. His  intellectual  and  social  faculties  received  a 
kindly  development  among  the  ninety  boys  at  the  in- 
stitution. After  leaving  Exeter,  Mr.  Webster  was 
placed  for  six  months  in  the  family  of  the  Rev. 
Samuel  Wood,  D.D.,  of  Boscawen,  who  superintended 


80  EULOGY    ON 

his  studies,  and  persuaded  him  to  apply  for  admis- 
sion, without  delay,  into  Dartmouth  College. 

Although  Mr.  Webster  did  not  begin  his  Greek 
grammar  until  June,  he  entered  college  in  August. 
This  was  in  1797,  when  John  Wheelock,  LL.  D.,  was 
president.  Mr.  Webster  chiefly  distinguished  him- 
self, in  the  words  of  Dr.  Shurtleff,  by  "  attending  to 
his  own  business,"  and  pursuing  his  studies  with  dili- 
gence. Virgil  and  Cicero  were  his  favorite  Latin 
authors.  Watts  on  the  Mind  and  Locke  on  the  Un- 
derstanding developed  his  metaphysical  acumen  ;  and 
his  style  of  speaking  was  nurtured  by  reading  Burke, 
Pitt,  Ames,  Hamilton,  and  other  distinguished  orators. 
While  in  College,  in  the  Junior  year,  Mr.  Webster 
delivered  a  Fourth  of  July  oration,  which  showed 
that  he  well  understood  American  history  and  the 
origin  of  our  Constitution.  This  remarkable  produc- 
tion —  for  a  young  man  —  was  published  in  the  year 
1800.  The  following  extracts  will  be  read  with 
interest : 

"  The  solemn  Declaration  of  Independence  is  now  pronounced, 
amidst  crowds  of  admiring  citizens,  by  the  supreme  council  of 
our  nation  ;  and  received  with  the  unbounded  plaudits  of  a  grate- 
ful people. 

"  That  was  the  hour  when  heroism  was  proved — and  the  souls 
of  men  tried. 

"  It  was  then,  ye  venerable  patriots  (speaking  to  the  Revo- 
lutionary soldiers  present),  it  was  then  you  lifted  the  indignant 
arm,  and  unitedly  swore  to  be  free  !  Despising  such  toys  as  sub- 
jugated empires,  you  then  knew  no  middle  fortune  between  liberty 
and  death. 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  81 

'•  Firmly  relying  on  the  protection  of  heaven,  unwarped  in  the 
resolution  you  had  taken,  you  then,  undaunted,  met— engaged — 
defeated  the  gigantic  power  of  Britain,  and  rose  triumphant  over 
the  aggressions  of  your  enemies. 

"  Trenton,  Princeton,  Bennington,  and  Saratoga,  wercthe  suc- 
cessive theatres  of  your  victories,  and  the  utmost  bounds  of 
creation  are  the  limits  to  your  fame  !  The  sacred  fire  of  freedom, 
then  enkindled  in  your  breasts,  shall  be  perpetuated  through  the 
long  descent  of  future  ages,  and  burn,  with  undiminished  fervor, 
in  the  bosom  of  millions  yet  unborn." 

The  young  orator  alludes  to  the  Articles  of  Con- 
federation and  to  the  Constitution  in  the  same  terms 
which  characterized  his  subsequent  speeches  in  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States : 

"  No  sooner  was  peace  restored  with  England  (the  first  grand 
article  of  which  was  the  acknowledgment  of  our  independence), 
than  the  old  system  of  Confederation,  dictated,  at  first,  by  neces- 
sity, and  adopted  for  the  purposes  of  the  moment,  was  found  in- 
adequate to  the  government  of  an  extensive  Empire.  Under  a 
full  conviction  of  this,  we  then  saw  the  people  of  these  States 
engaged  in  a  transaction  which  is  undoubtedly  the  greatest  ap- 
proximation towards  human  perfection  the  political  world  ever 
yet  witnessed,  and  which,  perhaps,  will  forever  stand  in  the  his- 
tory of  mankind  without  a  parallel.  A  great  Republic,  com- 
posed of  different  States,  whose  interest  in  all  respects  could  not 
be  perfectly  compatible,  then  came  deliberately  forward,  discarded 
one  system  of  government  and  adopted  another,  without  the  loss 
of  one  man's  blood." 

Mr.  Webster's  future  eminence  was  clearly  pre- 
dicted in  college.  Professor  Sanborn  says  :  "  By  the 
unanimous  consent  both  of  teachers  and  classmates, 
he  stood  at  the  head  of  his  associates  in  stud}* ;  and 
was  as  far  above  them  in  all  that  constitutes  human 

F 


82  EULOGY    ON 

greatness  as  he  is  now."  Anecdotes  of  him,  treasured 
up  in  the  traditions  of  succeeding  classes,  were  told 
for  many  years.  His  collegiate  course  was  the  means 
of  nurturing  and  developing  the  greatness  which  gave 
honor  to  New  England  and  the  whole  country.  For- 
tunate the  institution  which  enrols  Daniel  Webster 
among  its  alumni ! 

There  is  something  sublime  in  the  association  of 
this  name  with  school  teaching.  Twice  did  this 
mighty  man  of  intellect  condescend,  as  teacher,  to 
train  the  intellect  of  others.  Once  during  a  college 
vacation,  and  again  at  Fryeburg  in  Maine,  shortly 
after  he  was  graduated.  It  was  at  the  latter  place 
that  he  was  more  particularly  known  as  a  teacher. 
The  town  of  Fryeburg  will  ever  be  celebrated  as  the 
sphere  which  exercised  the  training  talent  of  the  im- 
mortal statesman.  The  object  of  Mr.  Webster,  in 
securing  the  situation,  was  honorable  to  his  heart.  It 
was  for  the  purpose  of  assisting  his  brother  Ezekiel 
through  college.  His  salary  as  teacher  was  only  $350, 
or  at  the  rate  of  about  $1  a  day ;  but  by  becoming 
assistant  to  the  Register  of  Deeds,  he  was  enabled  to 
defray  his  own  expenses,  and  to  contribute  to  the 
education  of  his  beloved  brother.1 

1  "  Mr.  Webster's  son,  and  one  of  his  friends,  have  lately 
visited  Fryeburg,  and  examined  these  records  of  deeds.  They 
are  still  preserved  in  two  huge  folio  volumes,  in  Mr.  Webster's 
handwriting,  exciting  wonder  how  so  much  work  could  be  done 
in  the  evening,  after  clays  of  close  confinement  to  the  business 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  oO 

Daniel  Webster,  a  teacher !  Well  done,  thou  glo- 
rious son  of  Puritan  ancestry.  The  office  honored 
thee,  as  thou  honored  it.  Second  only  to  the  min- 
istry in  its  capacities  of  usefulness,  it  needs  the  ser- 
vices of  the  greatest  and  of  the  best.  What  thou  hadst, 
thou  didst  bestow ;  and  teachers  will  thank  thee  for 
the  recollection  of  thy  labors,  and  for  thy  impressive 
professional  example. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Osgood,  of  Springfield,  Mass.,  re- 
lated1 that  Mr.  Webster  boarded  with  his  father  for 
seven  months,  whilst  teaching  at  Fryeburg.  and  that 
during  that  time  he  [Dr.  Osgood]  became  intimate 
with  him.  Dr.  Osgood  bore  testimony  to  the  manly, 
moral,  and  religious  character  of  Mr.  Webster,  who 
"at  one  time  seriously  entertained  the  idea  of  studying 
for  the  ministry"  Such  a  testimonial,  coming  up 
from  the  cherished  memories  of  half  a  century,  exalts 
the  young  teacher  in  the  hearts  of  other  generations. 

II.  Mr.  Webster's  public  life  now  opens  before  us. 
The  Connecticut  River,  on  the  banks  of  which  stands 
Dartmouth  College,  sweeps  downward  to  the  sea. 
Thus  the  career  of  the  graduated  youth  swells  into 
the  vast  affairs  of  the  world. 

of  the  school.  They  looked  also  at  the  records  of  the  trustees 
of  the  academy,  and  found  in  them  a  most  respectful  and  affec- 
tionate vote  of  thanks  and  good-will  to  Mr.  Webster  when  he 
took  leave  of  his  employment."  —  EvereWs  Memoir,  p.  xxvii. 

1  In  a  speech  on  the  occasion  of  Mr.  Webster's  death.  Dr. 
Osgood  is  an  Orthodox  Congregational  minister. 


84  EULOGY    ON 

The  anticipations  of  Mr.  Webster's  early  life  had  a 
glowing  fulfilment  in  a  long  career  of  distinguished 
professional  and  political  service.  In  his  public  rela- 
tions, he  may  be  contemplated  as  a  lawyer,  a  states- 
man, an  orator,  and  a  writer.  Would  that  a  more 
competent  person  stood  before  you,  to  do  justice  to 
this  various  greatness ! 

Whilst  teaching  school  in  Fryeburg,  the  eye  of 
Daniel  Webster  first  rested  upon  Blackstone's  Com- 
mentaries, as  the  book  of  professional  study.1  He, 
who  was  born  and  educated  in  New  Hampshire,  and 
who  spent  the  strength  of  his  days  in  Massachusetts, 
and  at  Washington,  was  sent  to  Maine  to  learn  law. 
The  calling,  which  Providence  had  in  view  for  the 
young  man,  was  promoted  by  bringing  him  in  contact 
with  Blackstone  in  a  country  village.  The  principles, 
then  acquired,  were  at  the  foundation  of  all  his  future 
legal  attainments. 

Admitted  to  the  bar  in  1805,  he  was  drilled  to  the 
drudgery  and  honors  of  the  profession,  in  close  com- 
petition with  the  intellect  of  Jeremiah  Mason,  and 
other  distinguished  men.  In  the  midst  of  a  growing 
and  extensive  practice,  he  cultivated  his  powers  by 
study  and  general  reading,  until  finally  he  was  sur- 
passed by  none  in  his  vocation.  His  knowledge  of 
the  elementary  principles  of  law  was  profound ;  his 
learning,  in  the  application  of  precedents,  and  in  the 

1  He  borrowed  the  book,  not  being  in  a  condition  to  buy  it. 


D  AX  IEL     WEBSTER.  85 

citation  of  statutes  and  authorities,  was  minute ;  and 
his  skill  in  managing  a  case,  and  in  pleading  before  a 
Court  or  Jury,  was  eminent.  Daniel  Webster  has 
never  had  a  superior  in  the  combination  of  qualifica- 
tions requisite  for  an  accomplished  lawyer.  In  the 
language  of  Eufus  Choate,  "  he  was  by  universal  de- 
signation, the  leader  of  the  general  American  bar; 
and  was  one, 

'  The  whole  Law's  thunder  born  to  wield.' " 

His  reputation  as  a  lawyer  was  established  in  the 
eyes  of  the  nation  by  his  argument  in  the  celebrated 
Dartmouth  College  case,  at  Washington,  in  1818.  On 
that  occasion,  he  appeared  before  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States  in  all  his  eminence  of  law  and 
oratory,  winning  the  judgment  of  the  Bench  by  his 
logic,  and  moving  the  audience  even  to  tears  by  his 
pathos.1  The  tradition  of  that  speech — the  technical 
outlines  being  alone  preserved  in  his  Works — makes 
it  one  of  the  grandest  forensic  efforts  ever  put  forth. 
No  lawyer  in  this  country  has  been  engaged  in  as 
many  great  cases  as  Daniel  Webster,  or  managed 
them  with  more  ability  and  success.  He  was  equally 
great  in  civil  and  in  criminal  cases.  His  knowledge 
of  human  nature  was  abreast  of  his  legal  learning. 
His  eye  was  a  searcher  of  character.     His .  capacity 

1  It  is  said  that  the  dignified  Chief  Justice  Marshall  did  not 
escape  the  contagious  sympathy  of  the  occasion. 


86  EULOGY    ON 

to  unravel  circumstantial  testimony,  and  to  present  it 
with  precision  and  power  to  a  jury,  was  one  of  the 
many  professional  adaptations,  which,  at  times,  made 
him  terrible  towards  the  guilty.  The  murder  case  at 
Salem  gave  opportunity  for  displays  of  this  nature.1 

Some  of  the  other  celebrated  cases,  in  which  Web- 
ster's fame  is  enshrined,  are  the  steamboat  case  of 
Gibbons  and  Ogden,  that  of  the  Charles  River  Bridge, 
the  United  States  Bank,  the  boundary  of  Massachu- 
setts and  Rhode  Island,  the  Dorr  Rebellion,  the  Girard 
Will,  the  Gaines  estate  and  the  Goodyear  patent. 

Mighty  man  in  a  mighty  profession  !  His  name  is 
associated  with  the  weightiest  judgments  of  Courts, 
the  most  intricate  questions  of  civil  and  constitu- 
tional law,  the  dearest  rights  of  mankind,  the  most 
severe  displays  of  intellectual  competition,  and  scenes 
of  the  most  commanding  and  effective  eloquence ! 

Although  the  sciences  of  law  and  of  government 
have  common  principles,  and  maintain  general  rela- 
tions of  affinity  and  correspondence,  they  are  by  no 
means  identical ;  nor  does  professional  eminence  in 
the  one  necessarily  lead  to  equal  honor  in  the  other. 
On  the  contrary,  an  eminent  lawyer  rarely  makes  a 
great  statesman.  Daniel  Webster  was  both.  Law 
and  statesmanship  were  the  double  sciences  through 
which  his  great  mind  gave  expression  to  its  diversi- 
fied powers.    This  remarkable  combination  heightens 


1  See  his  Works,  vol.  vi.,  p.  41. 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  87 

immeasurably  his  eminence  in  each  profession.  To 
be  great  in  either,  is  greatness  indeed;  but  to  be 
great,  and  so  great,  in  both,  is  the  achievement  only 
of  genius,  gifted  superlatively. 

Mr.  Webster's  early  predilections  seem  to  have 
been  towards  public  life.  This  is  indicated  in  his 
Junior  oration  at  Dartmouth  College,  an  oration  ex- 
hibiting both  political  knowledge  and  party  enthu- 
siasm. The  young  student,  when  at  Fryeburg,  did 
not  confine  his  studies  to  Blackstone.  At  this  same 
place  he  committed  to  memory  Fisher  Ames's  cele- 
brated speech  on  the  British  treaty — a  speech  abound- 
ing in  comprehensive  investigations  of  political  sci- 
ence and  history.  He  thus  began  early  in  life  that 
double  work  of  law  and  government,  which  was  per- 
fected in  the  world-renowned  reputation  of  an  event- 
ful public  career. 

Mr.  Webster's  first  speech  on  entering  public  life, 
as  he  himself  says,1  was  in  behalf  of  the  system  of 
common  schools  —  a  beginning  worthy  of  the  log 
school-house  boy,  of  the  Dartmouth  College  }routh, 
of  the  Massachusetts  Senator,  and  of  the  United 
States  Secretary  of  State.  In  1813,  at  the  age  of 
31,  Mr.  Webster,  then  residing  at  Portsmouth,  took 
his  seat  as  Representative  from  New  Hampshire  in 
the  Congress  of  the  United  States.  His  maiden 
speech,  delivered  the  same  year,  on  the  Berlin  and 

1  Speech  at  Madison,  Indiana,  in  vol.  i.,  p.  403,  of  his  Works. 


88  EULOGY    ON 

Milan  decrees,  placed  him  in  the  front  rank  with 
Clay,  Calhoun,  Lowndes,  and  the  other  leaders  in  the 
House.  The  distinguished  Lowndes  remarked  :  "  The 
North  had  not  his  equal,  nor  the  South  his  supe- 
rior."1 Mr.  Webster's  most  celebrated  speeches  in 
the  Lower  House  were  on  the  embargo,  the  increase 
of  the  navy,  the  bank,  the  Greek  revolution,  the 
Panama  mission,  and  the  tariff:  in  the  Senate,  on  the 
tariff,  Mr.  Foot's  resolution,  nullification,  the  United 
States  Bank,  the  French  spoliation  bill,  the  public 
lands,  the  power  of  removal  from  office,  the  national 
defence,  the  currency  question,  internal  improve- 
ments, the  annexation  of  Texas,  the  independent 
treasury,  the  boundary  treaty,  the  compromise  mea- 
sures. 

His  statesmanlike  capabilities,  as  Secretary  of 
State,  were  signally  displayed  in  the  settlement  of 
the  Northeastern  boundary,  the  Caroline  and  Amis- 
tad  cases,  the  relations  with  Mexico,  the  German 
Zoll-Verein,  the  Hulseman  letter,  Central  American 
affairs,  China  and  the  Sandwich  Islands,  and  the  right 
of  fishery.  Mr.  Webster's  diplomatic  and  official 
papers,  embracing  the  relations  of  the  United  States 


1  Chief  Justice  Marshall,  in  a  letter  to  a  friend,  says  :  "At 
the  time  this  speech  was  delivered,  I  did  not  know  Mr.  Webster, 
but  I  was  so  much  struck  with  it,  that  I  did  not  hesitate  then  to 
state  that  Mr.  Webster  was  a  very  able  man,  and  would  become 
one  of  the  very  first  statesmen  in  America,  perhaps  the  very 
first." 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  89 

with  the  principal  nations  of  the  earth,  embody  an 
amount  of  intricate  political  disquisition,  creditable 
to  his  intellect,  his  wisdom,  and  his  learning.1  His 
administration  of  the  State  Department  will  be  chiefly 
associated  with  "  The  Treaty  of  Washington,"  and 
the  boundary  question.  This  treaty  was  negotiated 
under  circumstances  of  extreme  embarrassment ;  Eng- 
land, on  the  one  hand,  never  feeling  better  prepared 
for  war  than  in  1842,  and  our  own  people  being 
strongly  clamorous  for  an  uncurtailed  boundary  line. 
The  controversy,  however,  of  nearly  half  a  century 
was  settled  amicably  and  honorably  to  both  nations. 
A  necessary  element  in  the  character  of  a  states- 
man is  devotion  to  his  country.  The  sources  of 
Daniel  Webster's  patriotism  were  the  Bible  and  Ame- 
rican history ;  to  these  he  had  been  led  hy  a  mother's 
piety  and  a  father's  example.  The  father's  personal 
services  and  reminiscences,  in  the  war  of  1776,  were 
rallying  points  of  hereditary  patriotism;  and  natu- 
rally served  to  associate,  wTith  more  than  ordinary 
vividness,  the  principles  of  the  Revolution  with  those 
of  the  Mayflower  compact,  of  Plymouth  Rock,  and 
of  Pilgrim  heroism  and  suffering.  Nurtured  under 
the  inspirations  of  Bible  truth,  and  of  Puritan  and 
Revolutionary  history,  Daniel  Webster  was  a  true 
lover  of  his  country.  Referring  to  the  early  history 
of  New  England  in  his  Address  at  Plymouth  Rock, 

1  See  Webster's  Works,  vol.  vi.,  pp.  247-530. 
8* 


90  EULOGY    ON 

he  exclaimed:  "Who  would  wish  for  other  emblazon- 
ing of  his  country's  heraldry,  or  other  ornaments  of 
her  genealogy,  than  to  be  able  to  say,  that  her  first 
existence  was  with  intelligence,  her  first  breath  the 
inspiration  of  liberty,  her  first  principle  the  truth  of 
divine  religion." 

Mr.  Webster's  patriotism  was  displayed  in  a  long 
public  life  by  his  unquenchable  attachment  to  the  Unkm. 
Thoroughly  and  minutely  acquainted  with  American 
history,  deeply  realizing  the  radical  defects  of  the 
Articles  of  the  old  Confederation,  convinced  of  the 
necessity  of  the  permanent  Union  of  the  States,  and 
glorying  in  the  wisdom  of  the  Constitution  as  it  is, 
he  put  forth  his  whole  powers  in  perpetuating  Ameri- 
can liberty  on  its  ancient  covenanted  foundation.  He 
ever  maintained  that  our  present  Constitution  was 
formed,  not  by  the  separate  States,  but  by  the  people 
of  the  whole  United  States.  This  was  the  ground- 
work of  his  argument  against  Nullification.  His 
soul  was  with  the  people  as  the  framers  of  the  Con- 
stitution. To  their  wisdom  in  adopting  this  instru- 
ment, he  always  gave  due  homage.  For  example,  in 
his  speech  at  Faneuil  Hall,  in  1838,  he  said  that  the 
mechanics  of  Boston  "  saw  as  quick  and  as  fully  as 
any  men  in  the  country,  the  infirmities  of  the  old 
Confederation,  and  discerned  the  means  by  which 
they  might  be  remedied.  From  the  first,  they  were 
ardent  and  zealous  friends  of  the  Constitution.     They 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  91 

saw  the  necessity  of  united  councils,  and  common 
regulations,  for  all  the  States,  in  matters  of  trade  and 
commerce."1  Tue  Constitution,  the  Constitution 
originating  in  the  want*  of  the  people,  and  approved 
by  their  own  wisdom,  were  ideas  which  illuminated 
the  way  of  his  whole  political  career,  and  which 
il ashed  their  light  amidst  the  splendor  of  his  most 
sublhne  eloquence.  Mr.  Webster's  political  reputa- 
tion will  be  identified  not  so  much  with  one  particu- 
lar measure,  as  with  the  grand  principle  of  constitu- 
tional integrity  which  pervaded  all  his  counsels  and 
opinions.  He  was  the  man  for  the  Union,  for  "the 
country,  the  whole  country,  and  nothing  but  the 
country."  The  crown  of  his  statesmanship  will  re- 
ceive its  highest  glory, — not  in  the  laurel  leaves  of  a 
general  renown,  but  in  the  "  bright  particular  stars  " 
of  the  American  Union,  set  in  jewelled  brightness 
upon  his  brow,  adorning  and  adorned. 

The  conclusion  of  his  celebrated  speech,  in  reply 
to  Colonel  Hayne,  presents  the  leading  principle  of 
his  public  life. 

"Wlien  my  eyes  for  the  last  time  shall  be  raised  to  behold  the 
sun  in  heaven,  may  they  not  gaze  upon  the  broken  fragments  of 
a  dishonored,  but  once  glorious  Union  ;  upon  States  dissevered, 
discordant,  and  belligerent ;  upon  a  land  rent  with  civil  feuds, 
and  drenched,  it  may  be,  in  fraternal  blood.  Let  their  last  feeble 
and  lingering  gaze  rather  behold  the  glorious  ensign  of  the  Re- 
public, now  known  and  honored  throughout  the  earth,  still  full 

1  Yol.  i.,  p.  430. 


92  EULOGY    OX 

high  advanced  —  not  one  stripe  erased  or  polluted,  not  one  star 
obscured — but  streaming  in  all  their  original  lustre,  and  bearing 
for  its  motto  no  such  miserable  interrogatory,  as  '  What  is  all 
this  worth  V  nor  those  other  words  of  delusion  or  folly,  '  Liberty 
first  and  Union  afterwards;'  but  everywhere,  spread  all  over  in 
characters  of  living  light,  blazing  on  all  its  ample  folds,  as  they 
float  over  the  sea  and  over  the  land,  and  in  every  wind  under  the 
whole  heavens,  that  other  sentiment,  dear  to  every  true  Ameri- 
can heart,  '  Liberty  and  Union,  now  and  forever,  one  and  in- 
separable. ' " 

The  characteristic  of  Calhoun  was  his  earnest  dia- 
lectic power,  which  stormed  the  intellect,  —  but  often 
in  vain.  Clay  possessed  a  pathetic,  soul-stirring  elo- 
quence, which  commanded  the  homage  and  the  emo- 
tions of  the  multitude.  Webster's  impressive  majesty 
of  thought  commonly  captivated  the  understanding ; 
but  when,  on  special  occasions,  he  wielded  the  thun- 
derbolts of  his  great  right  arm,  and  the  lightning  of 
his  outbreaking  soul  flashed  athwart  the  firmament, 
there  was  an  awe  in  the  spectators,  seldom  felt  among 
men.  Calhoun  was  the  metaphysical  reasoner ;  Clay, 
the  popular  orator ;  Webster,  the  philosophical  Sena- 
tor. Of  the  three,  Clay  had  the  most  personal  in- 
fluence and  the  greatest  tact;  Calhoun  was  equal  to 
either  in  honest  purpose  and  zealous,  manly  deter- 
mination ;  Webster  was  sublime  in  towering  genius, 
comprehensive  argumentation,  and  bold,  Saxon  ut- 
terance. Each  was  independent  and  lofty-minded. 
Although  Carolina,  Kentucky,  and  Massachusetts, 
are  well-nigh  unanimous,  each  in  favor  of  her  own 


DANIEL     WEBSTER. 


son,  the  general  voice  of  the  nation  would  probably 
give  to  Calhoun  more  of  bold,  metaphysical  subtlety 
(in  the  best  sense  of  that  word)  ;  to  Clay  more  of 
winning  and  accomplished  oratory ;  to  Webster  more 
of  influential  reasoning,  literary  acquisition,  and  en- 
during impression. 

Daniel  Webster's  oratory  became  his  personal  ap- 
pearance, like  the  drapery  of  a  classic  statue.  There 
was  a  harmony  in  his  presence,  and  in  his  words ;  in 
the  light  of  his  eye  and  the  light  of  his  thoughts ;  in 
his  compact  muscular  form,  and  his  arguments ;  in 
the  majesty  of  his  brow,  and  the  full-meaning,  solemn 
enunciations  of  his  truth.  He  was  a  man  equal  to 
emergencies.  Indeed,  emergencies  were  necessary 
for  the  full  development  of  his  powers.  He  was  or- 
dinarily calm  and  argumentative.  His  address  was 
in  winning  the  understanding ;  but  when  needful, 
reserved  forces  of  passionate  eloquence  were  mar- 
shalled forth,  at  the  sound  of  his  great  voice,  with 
consummate  skill  and  success.  He  was  not  aggres- 
sive by  nature.  His  tremendous  prerogative  was 
defence.  Constitutionally  conservative,  he  stayed 
himself  upon  the  established  principles  of  American 
liberty  and  national  policy.  The  subjects  that  gave 
scope  to  his  powers  were  usually  fundamental  ones. 
Great  themes  exercised  his  greatness.  He  was  a 
fearful  antagonist,  if  compelled  to  vindicate  his  own 
opinions,  and  descend  into  the  arena  of  personal  con- 


94  EULOGY    ON 

flict.  His  reply  to  Colonel  Hayne,  has  nothing  su- 
perior in  the  whole  history  of  parliamentary  gladia- 
torship.1  His  rejoinder  to  Colonel  Hayne  is  equally 
celebrated  as  a  specimen  of  close,  succinct,  unanswer- 
able ratiocination.  Mr.  Webster  was  ordinarily  con- 
cise. He  spoke  to  the  point.  He  did  not  "  draw  out 
the  thread  of  his  verbosity  finer  than  the  staple  of 
his  argument."  He  respected  his  subject  as  well  as 
himself.  His  presence  excited  awe  in  a  deliberative 
body.  Although  generally  slow  and  distinct  in  hi^ 
enunciations,  his  great  thoughts  came  out  as  fast  as 
the  most  attentive  audience  could  follow  them.  His 
eloquence  belonged  to  the  North,  rather  than  to  the 
South  or  the  West ;  but  it  received  homage  from  all 
sections  of  country,  from  all  classes  of  society,  and 
from  all  orders  of  intellect.     There  was  nothing  pro- 

1  The  writer  happened  to  be  travelling  at  the  South  when  this 
debate  occurred.  After  reading  the  speech  of  Colonel  Hayne, 
he  felt  that  the  North  had  received  a  terrible  castigation,  and 
was  held  up  to  the  derision  of  the  Republic.  Nor  did  it  seem 
possible,  even  for  Webster,  to  turn  that  tremendous  attack,  On 
arriving  at  Augusta,  Ga.,  the  whole  town  was  talking  of  }Jr. 
Webster's  reply,  which  was  everywhere  pronounced  triumphant. 
Nothing  but  reading  the  reply  satisfied  me  that  the  people  bad 
given  a  true  judgment.  On  arriving  at  Charleston,  Colonel 
Hayne's  residence,  the  same  judgment  was  freely  rendered.  The 
following  is  an  extract  from  the  speech  of  the  Hon.  R.  Barn- 
well Rhett,  recently  delivered  before  the  Charleston  bar,  on 
the  occasion  of  Mr.  Webster's  death  :  "As  an  orator,  he  lives  in 
his  speech  on  Foote's  resolutions,  the  greatest  oratorical  effo  t 
ever  made  by  an  American  statesman.''''  This  speech  of  Mr. 
Webster  will  be  found  in  vol.  iii.  of  his  Works. 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  95 

vincial  about  it.  On  the  contrary,  it  was  pure,  ele- 
vated, human,  Anglo-Saxon.  The  oratory  of  Web- 
ster will  go  down  to  posterity  with  applause.  In  the 
monumental  column  of  the  world's  eloquence,  formed 
by  the  contributions  to  the  illustrious  of  all  ages,  the 
name  of  the  Massachusetts  Senator  will  appear  with 
those  of  Demosthenes,  and  Cicero,  and  Burke,  and 
Fox,  and  Patrick  Henry  and  Clay;  and  if  any  stones 
in  the  column  have  a  brighter  polish,  or  more  exter- 
nal beauty,  not  Grecian  marble  itself  will  attract  more 
eyes  than  the  enduring  granite,  inscribed  with  Webster. 

The  aptitude  of  a  noble  mind  is  a  pleasing  exhi- 
bition of  the  various  endowments  God  has  given  to 
human  nature.  We  have  contemplated  Jurist  — 
Statesman  —  Orator  —  these  three  ;  but  Writer  com- 
pletes the  square  on  which  is  demonstrated  the  entire 
problem  of  Webster's  mysterious  greatness. 

The  remark  about  to  be  made  may  excite  at  first 
surprise,  but  it  will  stand  the  test  of  examination  :  — 
that  the  English  language  does  not  exhibit  purer  and 
more  classic  models  of  efficient  literature  than  Daniel 
Webster's  addresses  at  Plymouth  Rock,  at  Bunker 
Hill,  and  in  commemoration  of  Adams  and  Jefferson. 
These  alone  would  immortalize  any  man.  They  are 
better  known  throughout  the  United  States  than  anv 
similar  productions  of  human  genius.  They  are  the 
familiar  orations  in  schools,  academies,  and  colleges, 
to  develop,  and  to  develop  nobly,  the  elocution  of  the 


96  EULOGY    ON 

young  men  of  our  country  ;  and  they  will  contribute, 
throughout  all  coming  generations,  to  form  the  taste, 
the  style,  and  the  thoughts,  of  American  statesmen 
and  public  speakers.  May  I  be  allowed  to  introduce 
here  an  extract  from  his  Bunker  Hill  Oration  ? 

"  We  consecrate  our  work  to  the  spirit  of  national  independ- 
ence ;  and  we  wish  that  the  light  of  peace  may  rest  upon  it  for- 
ever. We  rear  a  memorial  of  our  conviction  of  that  unmeasured 
benefit  which  has  been  conferred  on  our  own  land,  and  of  the 
happy  influences  which  have  been  produced  by  the  same  events 
on  the  general  interests  of  mankind.  We  come,  as  Americans, 
to  mark  a  spot  which  must  be  forever  dear  to  us  and  our  pos- 
terity. We  wish  that  whosoever,  in  all  coming  time,  shall  turn 
his  eye  hither,  may  behold  that  the  place  is  not  undistinguished 
where  the  first  great  battle  of  the  Revolution  was  fought.  We 
wish  that  this  structure  may  proclaim  the  magnitude  and  import- 
ance of  that  event  to  every  class  and  every  age.  We  wisli  that 
infancy  may  learn  the  purpose  of  its  erection  from  maternal  lips, 
and  that  weary  and  withered  age  may  behold  it,  and  be  solaced 
by  the  recollections  which  it  suggests.  We  wish  that  labor  may 
look  up  here,  and  be  proud,  in  the  midst  of  its  toil.  We  wish 
that,  in  those  days  of  disaster,  which,  as  they  come  upon  all 
nations,  must  be  expected  to  come  upon  us  also,  desponding 
patriotism  may  turn  its  eyes  hitherward,  and  be  assured  that  the 
foundations  of  our  national  power  are  still  strong.  We  wish 
that  this  column,  rising  toward  heaven  among  the  pointed  spires 
of  so  many  temples  dedicated  to  God,  may  contribute  also  to 
produce,  in  all  minds,  a  pious  feeling  of  dependence  and  grati- 
tude. We  wish,  finally,  that  the  last  object  to  the  sight  of  him 
who  leaves  his  native  shore,  and  the  first  to  gladden  his  who  re- 
visits it,  may  be  something  which  shall  remind  him  of  the  liberty 
and  the  glory  of  his  country.  Let  it  rise  !  let  it  rise  !  till  it 
meet  the  sun  in  his  coming  !  — let  the  earliest  light  of  the  morn- 
ing gild  it,  and  parting  day  linger  and  play  on  its  summit !" 

Let  Mr.  Webster's  orations  be  carefully  and  criti- 
cally examined,  and  there  will  be  found  pure,  vigor- 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  \)  i 

ous  diction ;  a  style  which,  whilst  it  is  neither  elabo- 
rately ornate  nor  carelessly  free,  conveys  with  elegant 
precision  the  simplicity  of  truth  ;  thoughts  grand  and 
inspiring ;  pleasing,  classical,  and  appropriate  illustra- 
tions ;  minute  and  copious  learning ;  graphic  descrip- 
tion ;  a  reverence  for  God  and  for  the  solemn  things 
•  >f  religion  ;  all  interwoven  with  passages  of  sublimity 
and  beauty,  and  compacted  in  the  texture  of  finished 
literature. 

Mr.  Webster's  writings  properly  include  his  wdiole 
works.  By  these  his  reputation  is  to  be  tested.  His 
literary  orations,  his  Congressional  speeches,  his  legal 
arguments,  his  occasional  addresses,  his  diplomatic 
and  official  papers,  his  miscellaneous  letters,  form  a 
unity  of  mental  achievement  which  cannot  fail  in  all 
future  time  to  command  admiration.  The  specimens 
given  to  the  public  of  Mr.  Webster's  easy,  off-hand, 
familiar  letter-writing,  are  equal  to  anything  of  the 
kind  that  has  ever  appeared.  The  variety  of  the 
subjects  in  Mr.  Webster's  works  is  as  remarkable  as 
the  general  excellence  which  marks  the  treatment  of 
them  all. 

One  thing  about  Mr.  Webster's  writings  is  a  fortu- 
nate attainment.  I  refer  to  his  love  of  pure,  old, 
strong  words.  No  man  has  done  more  to  retain  the 
Saxon  element  in  our  literature.  In  his  speeches, 
writings,  and  conversation,  Daniel  Webster  was  true 
to  his  mother  tongue.  To  use  one  of  his  own  allu- 
9  G 


98  EULOGY    ON 

sions  at  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society  in  England, 
he  loved  "the  hith  and  lew  of  the  old  Savon  race."1 

Daniel  Webster's  works  have  recently  been  pub- 
lished in  six  splendid  octavo  volumes.     They  are  the 
repositories  of  great  thoughts  on  great  subjects  ex- 
pressed in  great  words.     Mr.  Everett  states  that,  in 
preparing  the  works  of  Mr.  Webster  for  the  press, 
almost  everything  was  left  to  his  editorial  discretion 
in  matters  of  taste.     But  one  thing  Mr.  Webster  en- 
joined.    "  My  friend,"  said  be,  "I  wish  to  perpetuate 
no  feuds.   ...  I  have  sometimes,  though  rarely,  and 
that  in  self-defence,  been  led  to  speak  of  others  with 
severity.     I  beg  you,  where  you  can  do  it  without 
wholly  changing  the  character  of  the  speech,  and  thus 
doing  essential  injustice  to  me,  to  obliterate  every  trait 
of  personality  of  this  kind."     Mr.  Everett  well  adds  : 
"  But  I  need  not  tell  you.  fellow-citizens,  that  there 
is  no  one  of  our   distinguished   public   men,  whose 
speeches  contain  less  occasion  for  such  an  injunction." 
Mr.  Webster's  writings  are  pervaded  with  high  moral 
sentiment,   and  with   references   to   sacred   subjects 
adapted  to  impress  the  mind  with  reverence.     In  the 
language  of  one  of  his  friends2  to  the  citizens  of 
Springfield,  Massachusetts : 

"  It  is  fortunate  for  us  and  for  posterity  that  so  many  of  his 
speeches  have  been  so  well  preserved  ;  and  that  his  works  havf 
been  collected  and  published  while  he  lived  to  superintend  the 

1  Yol.  i.,  p.  438.  2  Eeuben  A.  Chapman,  Esq. 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  (.»-> 

publication,  and  to  adorn  them  with  such  exquisitely  beautiful 
and  touching  dedications  to  those  relations  for  whom  he  felt  so 
warm  an  affection.  Those  works,  and  others  which  will  yet  be 
added,  are  of  the  richest  treasures  of  the  country.  There  is  yet 
one  — a  history  of  the  Administration  of  "Washington,  which  he 
had  long  been  engaged  to  some  extent  in  preparing,  but  which 
it  is  to  be  feared  is  left  incomplete.  Xo  man  was  so  competent 
to  write  this  history  as  he;  for  he  knew  all  the  history  of  this 
country  by  heart.  He  ouce  remarked  of  himself,  that  it  was  but 
a  little  that  he  knew  ;  but  if  he  knew  anything,  it  was  the  his- 
tory of  this  country.  He  added,  that  at  the  age  of  fourteen 
years  he  became  interested  in  the  study  of  this  history,  and  had 
never  lost  that  interest,  nor  ceased  to  make  it  a  study." 

Daniel  Webster's  Works  will  serve  admirably  to  in- 
crease and  to  perpetuate  his  reputation.  Whilst  they 
are  splendid  contributions  to  American  literature, 
they  are  guardians,  for  posterity,  of  his  fame  as  Jurist, 
Statesman,  Orator,  and  Writer. 

III.  Having  attempted  to  form  an  estimate  of  Mr. 
Webster  in  the  prominent  varieties  of  his  public  life, 
let  us  turn  to  his  more  private  and  social  traits  of 
character,  and  to  the  solemn  scenes  of  his  death. 

It  is  acknowledged  by  all  that  Mr.  Webster's  great- 
ness shone  in  the  social  circle  no  less  than  in  public 
life.  Though  not  as  readily  accessible  as  some  men. 
and  having  an  appearance,  which  might,  at  times,  be 
called  dignity,  and,  at  times,  reserve,  he  had  never- 
theless a  large,  social  heart,  which  beat  true  in  its 
friendships,  and  which  was  generous  and  warm  in  its 
affections. 


100  EULOGY    ON 

A  writer,  who  knew  him  well,  thus  remarks  of  his 
more  familiar  intercourse  : ' 

"  Mr.  Webster  was  never  seen  to  more  advantage  than  within 
his  own  household,  at  the  family  board,  or  in  strolling  with  him 
over  his  farm  at  Marshfield,  or  standing  with  him  upon  the  sea- 
beach  and  looking  out  upon  the  ocean  before  us,  which,  like  the 
scope  of  his  intellectual  vision,  appeared  boundless. 

"  We  have  enjoyed  these  things,  and  there  are  no  events  in  our 
life  in  which  we  have  experienced  more  pleasure.  As  we  write, 
they  involuntarily  rise  before  us,  like  blessed  visions  of  other  and 
better  days.  To  hear  him  converse  upon  the  past,  the  present, 
the  future,  in  a  familiar,  colloquial  manner,  to  listen  to  his  great 
thoughts  expressed  in  the  purest  words  of  our  language,  and  won- 
der how  he  could  thus  speak  and  think,  are  joys  which  we  cau 
find  no  words  to  express. 

"  His  fund  of  anecdote  and  of  personal  reminiscence  was  inex- 
haustible. No  one  could  start  a  subject,  relating  to  history,  and 
especially  to  American  Congressional  life,  about  which  he  could 
not  relate  some  anecdote  connected  with  some. of  the  principal 
characters,  which,  when  told,  would  throw  additional  light  upou 
the  narrative,  and  illustrate  some  prominent  trait  in  the  charac- 
ters of  the  persons  engaged  in  the  transaction.  This  great  gift 
he  possessed  in  a  degree  unsurpassed.  Mr.  Webster's  '  table 
talk'  was  fully  equal  to  any  of  his  more  elaborate  efforts  in  the 
Senate.  He  could' talk,  to  use  a  somewhat  misnomeric  expres- 
sion, as  well  as  he  could  speak.  He  had  a  keen  sense  of  the 
ludicrous,  and  loved  and  appreciated  nice  touches  of  eccentric 
humour." 

The  manner  in  which  Mr.  Webster  was  accustomed 
to  speak  and  write  of  his  father  and  mother,  his  sisters 
and  brothers,  his  wife  and  children,  indicates  the  true 
sensibilities  of  his  nature.     The  following  language 

1  In  the  Boston  Alias. 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  101 

of  one  of  his  friends '  beautifully  expresses  the  sen- 
timents, doubtless,  of  all  who  knew  him. 

"Upon  a  near  and  familiar  approach  to  most  great  men,  they 
dwindle  to  the  size  of  common  men.  Their  greatness  is  only 
seen  on  special  occasions,  and  after  much  preparation.  Bnt  he. 
though  familiar  and  frank  as  a  child,  though  never  attempting  to 
display  his  superiority,  appeared  greatest  in  his  most  familiar  and 
careless  conversation.  It  may  be  said  of  him,  as  travellers  say 
of  the  Pyramids,  that  one  can  only  appreciate  their  full  size 
when  standing  at  their  base.  I  have  heard  in  his  private  con- 
versation, higher  specimens  of  eloquence  than  his  published  works 
contain. 

"Great  as  his  powers  of  argument  and  eloquence  were,  that 
which  gives  the  brightest  lustre  to  all  his  public  addresses,  is  the 
lofty  tone  of  moral  purity  that  pervades  them.  This  moral  purity 
of  sentiment  was  founded  in  a  reverence  for  God  and  for  the 
Christian  religion.  His  private  conversation,  his  most  intimate 
friends  testify,  was  never  blemished  by  a  profane,  irreverent,  inde- 
cent, or  unseemly  expression." 

Mr.  Webster  had  a  strong  sympathy  with  nature. 
The  works  of  creation  afforded  relaxation  and  delight 
to  his  mind.  A  taste  for  agricultural  pursuits,  which 
was  early  sown  in  the  rich  mould  of  his  genial  nature, 
was  cultivated,  as  he  had  opportunity,  and  yielded 
harvests  of  enjoyment  in  his  summer  and  autumnal 
years.  In  his  speech  on  the  agriculture  of  England, 
delivered  at  Boston,  in  1840,  he  commenced  by 
saying : 

"  Mr.  Chairman  :  I  would  observe  in  the  outset  of 

1  Reuben  A.  Chapman,  Esq.,  in  his  address  before  the  Spring- 
field bar,  Massachusetts. 

9* 


102  EULOGY    ON 

these  remarks,  that  I  regard  agriculture  as  the  lead- 
ing interest  of  society ;  and  as  having,  in  all  its  rela- 
tions, a  direct  and  intimate  bearing  upon  human 
comfort  and  national  prosperity.  /  have  been  fam iliar 
with  its  operations  in  my  youth  ;  and  I  have  always 
looked  upon  the  subject  with  a  lively  and  deep  in- 
terest." ' 

About  the  year  1825,  Mr.  Webster  purchased  a 
part  of  his  Marshfield  estate,  which  he  afterwards 
enlarged  by  other  purchases  until  the  farm  included 
about  2000  acres,  "  extending  from  a  beach  at  the 
north,  nearly  two  miles  in  length,  on  which  the  ocean 
dashes  its  ever-rolling  waves,  to  a  low  range  of  pictu- 
resque hills  on  the  south  and  southwest,"  This  large 
plantation  embraced  every  variety  of  upland  and  low- 
land ;  and  although  much  indebted  to  nature,  it  owed 
more  to  the  laborious,  reclaiming  processes  of  a  scien- 
tific and  masterly  agriculture.  Mr.  Webster  attended 
by  personal  oversight  to  the  practical  working  and 
general  management  of  his  farm.  Thus,  in  his  letter 
to  John  Taylor,  he  gives  the  following  directions  about 
one  of  his  farms,  whilst  attending,  at  Washington,  as 
Secretary  of  State,  to  the  great  political  interests  of 
the  nation : 

Washington,  March  17,  1852. 
John  Taylor  :    Go  ahead.     The  heart  of  the  Winter  is  bro- 
ken, and   before  the  first  day  of  April,  all  your  land   may  be 

1  Webster's  Works,  vol.  i.,  page  443. 


DANIEL     WEBSTER. 


103 


ploughed.  Buy  the  oxen  of  Captain  Marston,  if  you  think  the 
price  fair.  Pay  for  the  hay.  I  send  you  a  check  for  $160,  for 
these  two  objects.  Put  the  great  oxen  in  a  condition  to  be  turned 
out  and  fattened.  You  have  a  good  horse-team;  and  I  think  in 
addition  to  this,  four  oxen  and  a  pair  of  four-year-old  steers  will 
do  your  work.  If  you  think  so,  then  dispose  of  the  Stevens 
oxen,  or  unyoke  them,  and  send  them  to  the  pasture  for  beef.  I 
know  not  when  I  shall  see  you,  but  I  hope  before  planting.  If 
you  need  anything,  such  as  guano,  for  instance,  write  to  Joseph 
Buck,  Esq.,  Boston,  and  he  will  send  it  to  you. 

Whatever  ground  you  sow  or  plant,  see  that  is  in  good  condi- 
tion. We  want  no  'pennyroyal  crops.  "A  little  farm  well 
tilled,"  is  to  a  farmer  the  next  best  thing  to  a  "little  wife  well 
willed."  Cultivate  your  garden.  Be  sure  to  produce  sufficient 
quantities  of  useful  vegetables. 

Mr.  Webster  was  interested  in  agriculture,  mind 
and  heart  and  soul.  Thoroughly  conversant  with  its 
philosophical  principles,  he  was  also  an  enthusiast  in 
their  practical  application.  His  crops  were  large ; 
the  pastures  kept  in  good  order ;  drainage  thoroughly 
attended  to ;  the  agricultural  implements  of  the  best 
description  ;  the  cattle  of  a  superior  quality  ;  in  short, 
the  Marshfield  estate  presented  an  example  of  tho- 
rough, prosperous,  intelligent  management. 

Mr.  Webster  paid  particular  attention  to  his  cattle. 
He  loved  a  fine  animal,  and  knew  wherein  consisted 
its  good  points.  He  was  an  excellent  judge  of  stock. 
Among  his  numerous  animals  of  foreign  blood,  were 
Devon s,  Alderneys,  Ayrshires,  Hertfordshires,  and 
Durhams.  His  interest  in  these  amounted  almost  to 
a  friendship.     It  is  an  affecting  incident  that,  during 


104  EULOGY    ON 

his  last  sickness,  he  ordered  his  favourite  herds  to  be 
driven  up  towards  the  house,  in  a  position  to  be  seen 
from  his  window;  and  there,  for  the  last  time,  his 
admiring  eye  looked  upon  their  well-bred  proportions 
of  beauty  and  strength. 

Mr.  Webster's  address  on  "the  agriculture  of  Eng- 
land," to  which  allusion  has  been  made,  contains  a 
large  amount  of  useful  matter.  Beginning  with  the 
primary  elements  which  enter  into  the  consideration 
of  the  agriculture  of  a  country,  which  he  defined  to 
be  four,  —  "climate,  soil,  price  of  land,  and  price  of 
labor" — he  makes  some  general  remarks  on  each,  and 
then  goes  on  to  discuss  a  great  variety  of  practical 
questions  of  the  highest  interest  to  American  agri- 
culturists. The  address  contains  a  mass  of  agricul- 
tural information,  compact  as  a  rich  wheat-field,  and 
goldened  all  over  with  the  natural  color  of  his  ripe 
literature.     It  concludes  as  follows  : 

"Agriculture  feeds  us  ;  to  a  great  degree  it  clothes  us;  with- 
out it  we  should  not  have  manufactures,  and  we  could  not  have 
commerce.  These  all  stand  together,  but  they  stand  together 
like  pillars  in  a  cluster,  the  largest  in  the  centre,  and  that  largest 
is  agriculture.  Let  us  remember,  too,  that  we  live  in  a  country 
of  small  farms  and  freehold  tenements  ;  a  country  in  which  men 
cultivate  with  their  own  hands  their  own  fee-simple  acres,  draw- 
ing not  only  their  subsistence,  but  also  their  spirit  of  independ- 
ence" and  manly  freedom,  from  the  ground  they  plough.  They 
are  at  once  its  owners,  its  cultivators,  and  its  defenders.  And 
whatever  else  may  be  undervalued  or  overlooked,  let  us  never 
forget  that  the  cultivation  of  the  earth  is  the  most  important 
labor  of  man.  Man  may  be  civilized,  in  some  degree,  without 
great  progress  in  manufactures  and  with  little  commerce  with  his 


DAXIEL     WEBSTER.  105 

distant  neighbors.  But  without  the  cultivation  of  the  earth,  he 
is,  in  all  countries,  a  savage.  Until  he  gives  up  the  chase,  and 
fixes  himself  in  some  place  and  seeks  a  living  from  the  earth,  he 
is  a  roaming  barbarian.  When  tillage  begins,  other  arts  follow. 
The  farmers,  therefore,  are  the  founders  of  human  civilization."' 

Mr.  Webster's  general  information  on  the  branclu  s 
of  knowledge,  which  are  cognate  to  agriculture,  was 
extensive.  He  understood  a  good  deal  of  chemistry. 
botany,1  natural  history,  mineralogy,  geology.  No 
branch  of  learning  was  alien  to  him,  as  an  agricul- 
turist. 

Mr.  Webster's  recreations  were  of  the  out-door  kind. 
He  loved  fishing,  gunning,  riding,  walking,  sailing. 
His  boat,  which  was  called  the  -'Home  Squadron," 
often  tested  his  skill  at  navigation,  in  these  re. 
tions  he  was  hearty,  and  up  to  any  one  in  skill  and 
enjoyment.  His  habits  of  early  rising  gave  him  a 
long  day,  and  no  man  had  a  better  right  to  pleasant 
relaxation.     He  ever  delighted  in 

"The  breezy  call  of  incense-breathing  morn  ;" 

and  the  exhilaration  of  the  early  sun  was  spread 
through  the  habits  of  his  life,  whether  at  Washington 
or  on  his  farm. 

1  The  writer  remembers  his  astonishment,  many  years  ago, 
when,  in  walking  about  his  father's  grounds  in  Albany,  with  this 
statesman  (the  only  character  in  which  he  was  then  known  to 
in  •  .  Mr  Webster  seemed  perfectly  familiar  with  every  variety 
of  tree-,  some  of  which  were  rare,  and  referred  to  Michaux' 
North  American  Sylva,  and  other  standard  works  on  botany,  as 
he  would  to  Vattel's  Law  of  Nations. 


L06  EULOGY    ON 

His  mansion,  with  all  its  sights  and  associations, 
was  Webstcrian.  It  is  a  large,  massive  structure, 
combining  the  antique  and  tbe  modern,  raised  upon 
a  knoll  above  the  general  outline  of  the  surrounding 
scenery,  in  full  view  of  the  rolling  sea,  and  in  the 
midst  of  the  associations  of  Pilgrim  history  and  the 
remnants  of  Pilgrim  graves.1  Its  internal  arrange- 
ments are  those  of  convenience  and  taste,  with  plenty 
of  room  for  friends,  a  large  library,  and  the  miscella- 
neous appurtenances  of  a  gentleman-farmer's  home, 
specially  adorned  with  a  collection  of  medals,  voted 
to  General  Washington  by  the  old  Congress.2 

Yonder  magnificent  elm,  which  stands  near  the 
mansion,  and  which  has  seen  a  century  of  storms, 
sheltered  its  proprietor  for  the  last  time,  about  a  fort- 
night before  his  death.  Going  out  to  reciprocate  the 
salutations  of  a  wedding-party  who  had  called  to  see 
him,  he  returned  after  a  few  minutes  into  the  house ; 
leaving  his  last  footmark  upon  his  beloved  Marshfield 


1  Plymouth  Rock  is  about  twenty  miles  off,  and  on  a  clear  day 
the  scene  of  the  Mayflower's  landing  may  be  discerned.  The 
graveyard,  where  many  of  the  early  colonists  of  the  parish  were 
buried,  is  within  a  mile  of  the  mansion.  Here  is  the  grave  of 
Governor  Winslow,  and  also  of  Peregrine  White,  the  first-born 
child  of  the  Colony.  Near  by,  stood  the  old  parish  church,  built 
next  after  that  of  Plymouth. 

2  These  medals  were  offered  to  Congress;  but  that  body  being 
slow  to  purchase  them,  they  were  presented  by  private  liberality 
to  Mr.  Webster's  family.  Since  the  death  of  the  great  Wash- 
tngtonian.  are  they  not  to  be  deposited  with  some  national  in- 
stitution ? 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  107 

farm,  and  taking  the  last  out-door  glance  upon  its 
beautiful  and  variegated  outline. 

Would  that  a  man,  so  great,  had  borne  through 
life  a  consistent  religious  character !  Here  his  great- 
ness, alas  !  fails.  Whatever  may  have  been  latterly 
his  religious  feelings  and  exercises,  his  moral  example 
cannot  be  held  up  to  the  unqualified  admiration  of 
American  youth. 

The  great  question,  after  all,  that  decides  human 
character  and  destiny  is,  "Was  he  religious?"  That 
many  have  entertained  doubts  in  reference  to  the  re- 
ligious character  of  the  distinguished  man  who  has 
now  ended  his  earthly  probation,  is  an  admission  due 
to  truth.  It  is  not  denied,  and  ought  not  to  be  con- 
cealed, that  Mr.  Webster's  character  during  periods 
of  his  lifetime,  suffered  serious  loss  from  charges  of 
immorality.  To  what  extent  these  were  true,  or 
false,  it  is  impossible  to  affirm;  doubtless  they  were 
much  exaggerated.  And  who  can  say  that  the  delin- 
quencies charged  were  not  either  backslidings  from 
general  Christian  steadfastness,  or  sins  repented  of  in 
the  later  exercises  of  his  soul,  and  washed  away  by 
the  blood  of  an  atoning  Saviour? 

There  are  certainly  many  interesting  illustrations 
of  the  strength  of  the  religious  sentiment  in  the  mind 
and  conscience  of  the  great  statesman.  His  early 
religious  training,  under  the  parental  roof,  was 
thorough  and  enduring  in  its  impressions.     He  ac- 


108  EULOGY    ON 

quired  a  taste  and  reverence  for  the  Bible  which 
never  forsook  him,  and  committed  to  memory  the 
Catechism  and  the  larger  portion  of  Watts's  Psalms 
and  Hymns.  Under  the  care  of  Dr.  Abbott  of  Exeter 
Academy,  and  of  Dr.  Wood  of  Boscawen,  his  reli- 
gious convictions  must  have  been  cultivated  and 
strengthened.  In  his  college  course,  Dr.  Shurtleff 
testifies  to  the  fidelity  with  which  he  discharged  his 
general  duties,  and  to  the  un deviating  strictness  of 
his  moral  character.  When  he  taught  school  at  Frye- 
burg,  Dr.  Osgood,  who  lived  in  the  same  house  with 
him,  says  that  he  was  a  professor  of  religion,  and  even 
had  thoughts  of  entering  the  ministry.  His  first  wife 
was  the  pious  daughter  of  a  Congregational  clergy- 
man. So  far,  all  betokens  .well.  Evangelical  reli- 
gion, deeply  rooted  in  his  mind,  seems  to  have  been 
exerting  also  a  practical  influence  on  his  life. 

After  Mr.  Webster's  settlement  in  Boston,  few  par- 
ticulars about  his  religious  sentiments  and  habits  have 
been  divulged  to  the  public.  It  is  well  known,  that 
at  this  time,  or  shortly  after,  the  great  mass  of  the 
educated  and  influential  professional  men  of  the  city, 
were  Unitarians.  Almost  all  the  old  churches  had 
departed  from  the  ancient  faith  of  New  England,  and 
Park  Street  Church  was  not  yet  founded.  It  is  stated, 
in  one  of  the  papers,  that  Mr.  Webster  attended  the 
Brattle  Street  Church — Unitarian — for  sixteen  years. 
Unitarianism  at  that  time,  however,  was  in  a  com- 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  109 

paratively  latent  form,  and  many  persons  attended 
the  old  churches,  partly  from  choice,  and  partly  from 
necessity,  who  never  enrolled  themselves  as  Unita- 
rians. Certainly  Daniel  Webster  has  never  been 
claimed  as  a  Unitarian.  He  was  always  a  believer 
in  the  divinity  of  Christ,  and  in  the  fundamental  doc- 
trines of  the  Evangelical  Faith.  An  orthodox  Con- 
gregational clergyman,  who  had  charge  of  a  parish  to 
which  Mr. Webster  formerly  belonged,  says  that,  upon 
one  occasion,  the  distinguished  statesman  "spoke  of 
how  the  cause  of  orthodoxy  was  protected  in  the 
north  of  Boston  by  the  indefatigable  Dr.  Morse,  of 
Charlestown,"  a  man  who  was  "always  thinking, 
always  reading,  always  writing,  always  preaching, 
always  acting"— of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Codman,  "  who  main- 
tained the  cause  at  the  south,  at  Dorchester,  and  of 
other  clergymen  of  that  day."  Mr.  Webster,  on  be- 
coming an  inhabitant  of  Dorchester,  where  he  spent 
the  summer  for  a  number  of  years,  called  upon  Dr. 
Codman,  and,  in  the  course  of  the  conversation,  he 
remarked :  "  Sir,  I  am  come  to  be  one  of  your  parish- 
ioners, not  one  of  your  fashionable  ones,  but  you  will 
find  me  in  my  seat  both  in  the  morning  and  after- 
noon." 

Mr.  Webster,  in  the  latter  years  of  his  life,  attended 
the  Episcopal  Church,  of  which  his  wife  was  a  mem- 
ber.      He   himself   had  joined    the   Congregational 
Church,  in  Salisbury,  in  early  life ;  and  this  accounts 
10 


110  EULOGY    ON 

for  the  fact,  that  he  occasionally  partook  of  the  sa- 
crament, where  he  happened  to  he,  with  members  of 
different  denominations.  Such  acts  show  the  power- 
ful, indwelling  sense  of  the  claims  of  religion ;  and 
as  he  was  the  farthest  possible  removed  from  hypo- 
crisy, they  are  the  expressions  of  a  sincere  belief  in 
the  doctrines  and  requirements  of  the  Gospel. 

For  the  last  two  years  of  his  life,  the  great  states- 
man seems  to  have  given  himself  up  more  and  more 
to  religious  duties.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Shurtleff,  of  Dart- 
mouth College,  in  referring  to  the  subject,1  "  spoke  of 
his  last  interview  with  Mr.  Webster  in  Boston,  about 
two  years  ago,  at  his  (Mr.  Webster's)  invitation. 
Knowing  that  great  men  are  liable,  from  their  posi- 
tion, to  fail  of  receiving  personal  exhortation  from 
the  clergy,  he  resolved  to  do  that  duty  which  early 
intimacy,  and  as  pastor  in  the  college  for  a  long 
period,  made  fit.  He  did  so,  and  found  Mr.  Webster 
not  only  kindly  disposed,  but  even  anticipating  him 
in  the  free  communication  of  his  personal  religious 
feelings.  Dr.  Shurtleff  said  :  '  I  found  his  views  of 
Christian  doctrine  and  the  claims  of  Christian  duty 
perfectly  coincident  with  my  own.'  " 

There  are  many  other  concurrent  testimonies  to  the 
same  purport.  The  pastor  of  the  Orthodox  Church 
in  Marshfield,  unequivocally  expresses  an  entire  con- 


1  At  a  late  meeting  of  the  officers  and  students  of  Dartmouth 
College. 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  Ill 

fidence  in  Mr.  Webster's  religious  character.     In  the 

address  at  the  funeral,  reference  is  made  to  his  habit 
of  engaging,  at  least  at  times,  in  family  worship  ;  and 
the  pastor  applies  to  Mr.  Webster  these  words  :  "lam 
bound  to  say,  that  in  the  course  of  my  life,  I  never 
met  with  an  individual,  in  any  profession  or  condition, 
who  always  spoke  and  always  thought  with  such 
awful  reverence  of  the  power  and  presence  of  God. 
No  irreverence,  no  lightness,  even  no  too  familiar  allu- 
sions to  God  and  his  attributes,  ever  escaped  his  lips. 
"  Those  who  knew  him  best,  can  most  truly  appre- 
ciate the  lessons,  both  from  his  lips  and  his  examph-. 
teaching  the  sustaining  power  of  the  Gospel." 

In  the  light  of  these  various  evidences,  especially 
when  viewed  in  their  connection  with  his  sound  train- 
ing in  the  faith  and  his  early  attention  to  religion, 
the  hope  may  be  charitably  indulged,  that  Daniel 
Webster  relied  for  salvation  upon  the  blood  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ ; 1  and  yet  a  little  child,  or  a  poor 
slave,  may,  in  the  kingdom  of  God,  be  greater  than  he. 

1  The  caution  of  the  writer  in  speaking  on  this  subject,  may 
seem  excessive,  and  even  repulsive  to  those  whose  views  of  reli- 
gious truth  are  more  lax  than  the  Westminster  standards.  I 
have,  however,  according  to  my  own  religious  convictions,  al- 
luded to  this  solemn  and  delicate  question,  and  endeavored  to 
obey  the  claims  of  Christian  charity.  There  are  persons,  on  the 
opposite  extreme,  who  will  doubtless  censure  even  the  expression 
of  a  hope.  I  trust  that  the  language  employed  will  not,  on  the 
whole,  offend  many  of  the  followers  of  Christ.  God  alone  knows 
the  heart.   This  prerogative  the  writer  has  not  attempted  to  invade. 


112  E  D  LOG  Y    ON 

The  hope  of  his  religious  character  is  strongest 
when  we  approach  his  dying  bed,  and  behold  him  in 
the  hour  when  heart  and  flesh  fail. 

The  startling  intelligence  is  brought  that  the  great 
statesman  is  dying !  Disease  is  invading  the  frame 
which  God  built  for  the  abode  of  living  greatness. 
The  body  is  but  dust,  but  dust  in  mysterious  glory ! 
i;  It  is  said  that  when  Thorwaldsen,  the  Danish  sculp- 
tor, was  residing  in  Rome,  he  visited  the  studio  of  our 
countryman,  Powers.  In  looking  about  the  room,  he 
discovered  a  plaster  cast  of  Webster.  He  inquired, 
with  surprise,  whether  it  could  be  possible  that  it  was 
the  actual  representation  of  any  man ;  and  after  a 
long  and  careful  examination,  he  pronounced  it  supe- 
rior to  the  highest  conception  of  mental  strength  and 
dignity  which  the  ancients  had  been  able  to  express 
in  their  busts  of  Jupiter."  That  wonder-compelling 
cast,  though  brittle,  is  to  outlive  the  majestic  head 
that  gave  it  form.  The  cheek,  which  once  corres- 
ponded with  its  outline,  is  now  wan  and  shrunken 
with  disease.  The  arch  of  his  •  massive,  intellectual 
brow,  is  already  shaken  by  the  failing  keystone  of 
lite.  The  "large,  black,  solemn-looking  eye,"  alone 
shines  with  unabated  strength,  lighting  up  the  im- 
pending ruin,  and  casting  rays  which  will  soon,  in 
expiring,  render  the  darkness  more  visible.  Ah ! 
Immortal  Orator !  Art  thou  on  the  bed  of  death  ? 
Heaven  sustain  thee  there !     The   terrific  work  of 


DAXIEL    WEBSTER.  113 

bodily  destruction  is  going  forward  under  the  arrange- 
ments of  that  Providence  which  is  concerned  in  all 
births,  all  lives,  all  deaths.  Let  us  approach  the  scene 
with  awe ;  and  may  God  be  Avith  us  when  our  own 
time  shall  come ! 

On  Thursday  morning,  Mr.  Webster  despatched  his 
last  public  business ;  in  the  afternoon,  gave  some  di- 
rections about  his  farm ;  and  in  the  evening,  executed 
his  will,  which  had  been  previously  prepared.  "Du- 
ring all  these  transactions,  and  throughout  the  whole 
evening,  Mr.  "Webster  showed  an  entire  self-posses- 
sion, and  the  most  perfect  composure  and  clearness 
of  all  his  faculties,  speaking  with  his  peculiar  aptness 
of  phraseology,  words  of  kindness  and  consolation  to 
those  around  him,  and  expressing  religious  sentiments, 
appropriate  to  his  condition,  with  the  greatest  sim- 
plicity and  earnestness.  His  voice  was  as  clear  and 
distinct  as  it  ever  was,  and  his  mind  showed  constant 
evidence  of  those  qualities  of  exactness  and  power 
which  had  so  strongly  characterized  his  career." 

On  Friday  afternoon,  he  asked  to  have  the  people 
employed  in  his  family  and  upon  his  farm,  called  in ; 
and  after  giving  them  much  earnest  advice  upon  mat- 
ters temporal  and  spiritual,  he  bade  them  a  last  farewell. 

On  Saturday  evening,  being  told  that  his  end  was 

approaching,  he  summoned,  first  the  female  members 

of  his  family,  and  then  the  male ;  and  addressing  to 

them  appropriate  words  of  farewell,  and  of  religious 

10*  H 


114  EULOGY    ON 

consolation,  bade  adieu  to  them  for  ever.  In  the 
course  of  these  interviews,  he  remarked :  "  What  would 
be  the  condition  of  any  of  us  without  the  hope  of  im- 
mortality ?  What  is  there  to  rest  that  hope  upon  but 
the  gospel  ?  "  '  He  also  remarked :  "  My  general  wish 
on  earth  has  been  to  do  my  Maker's  will.  I  thank  him, 
I  thank  him  for  the  means  of  doing  some  little  good ; 
for  these  beloved  objects,  for  the  blessings  that  sur- 
round me,  for  my  nature  and  associations.  I  thank 
him  that  I  am  to  die  under  so  many  circumstances  of 
love  and  affection."  l 

Shortly  after  the  interviews  with  his  relatives  and 
friends,  as  if  speaking  to  himself,  he  said :  "  On  the 
24th  of  October,  all  that  is  mortal  of  Daniel  Webster 
will  be  no  more." 

He  now  prayed  in  his  natural,  usual  voice — strong, 
full,  and  clear — ending  with,  "  Heavenly  Father,  for- 
give  MY   SINS,  AND   RECEIVE   ME   TO   THYSELF,  THROUGH 

Jesus  Christ.", 

Conversing  with  great  exactness,  he  seemed  to  be 
anxious  to  be  able  to  mark  to  himself  the  final  pe- 
riod of  his  dissolution. 

He  was  answered  that  it  might  occur  in  one,  two, 
or  three  hours,  but  that  the  time  could  not  be  defi- 
nitely calculated. 

"  Then,"  said  Mr.  Webster,  "  I  suppose  I  must  lie 
here  quietly  till  it  comes." 

1  George  T.  Curtis,  Esq. 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  115 

The  retching  and  vomiting  now  recurred  again ; 
and  Dr.  Jeffries  offered  to  Mr.  Webster  something 
which  he  hoped  might  give  him  ease. 

The  dying  statesman  remarked  :  "  Something  more, 
Doctor  —  more.     I  want  restoration." 

Between  ten  and  eleven  o'clock,  he  repeated,  some- 
what indistinctly,  the  words,  "Poet,  poetry — Gray, 
Gray." 

Mr.  Fletcher  Webster  repeated  the  first  line  of 
the  elegy  —  "  The  Curfew  tolls  the  knell  of  parting 
day." 

"  That's  it,  that's  it,"  said  Mr.  Webster ;  and  the 
book  was  brought  and  some  stanzas  read  to  him,  which 
seemed  to  give  him  pleasure. 

From  twelve  o'clock  till  two,  there  was  much  rest- 
lessness, but  not  much  suffering ;  the  physicians  were 
quite  confident  that  there  was  no  actual  pain. 

A  faintness  occurred,  which  led  him  to  think  that 
his  death  was  at  hand.  .  While  in  this  condition, 
some  expressions  fell  from  him,  indicating  the  hope 
that  his  mind  would  remain  to  him  completely  until 
the  last. 

He  spake  of  the  difficulty  of  the  process  of  dying, 
when  Dr.  Jeffries  repeated  the  verse : 

"  Though  I  walk  through  the  valley  of  the  shadow 
of  death,  I  will  fear  no  evil,  for  thou  art  with  me  — 
thy  rod  and  thy  staff,  they  comfort  me." 

Mr.  Webster  said  immediately  :  "  The  fact  —  the 


116  EULOGY    ON 

fact !     That  is  what  I  want !     Thy  rod  — thy  rod! 
thy  staff— thy  staff!" 

Only  once  more  did  he  speak  after  this.  On  arous- 
ing from  a  deep  sleep,  he  uttered  the  words  :  "  I  still 
live."  The  close  was  perfectly  tranquil  and  easy. 
He  died  on  the  24th  of  October,  about  a  quarter 
before  3  o'clock,  in  the  morning. 

Thus,  by  a  beautiful  coincidence,  his  departure 
occurred  early  in  his  own  favorite  part  of  the  day  — 
early  in  the  morning.  In  his  letter,  on  this  topic,  he 
said  :  "  I  know  the  morning  —  I  am  acquainted  with 
it,  and  love  it."  We  trust  that,  through  the  infinite 
srace  of  Christ,  he  had  reason  to  love  that  last  morn- 
ing,  and  that  its  light  was  to  him,  spiritually,  "as 
the  light  of  the  morning  icJien  the  sun.  riseth,  even  A 

MORNING   WITHOUT    CLOUDS  !  " 

IV.  As  Christians,  and  as  citizens,  it  becomes  us 
to  endeavor  to  search  out  some  of  the  lessons  of 
Providence,  in.  the  light  and  gloom  of  the  grave  of 
Webster. 

1.  Let  us  thank  God  for  raising  up  such  men,  in 
His  providence,  and  look  to  Him  for  their  suc- 
cession. 

Webster  came  from  the  hands  of  God.  His  vast 
intellect,  in  fitting  union  with  a  noble  frame,  was 
workmanship  Divine.  His  life,  although  not  free 
from  censure,  and  in  nothing  perfect,  has  left  influ- 
ences so  generally  favorable  to  our  national  prosperity, 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  117 

that  a  thankful  acknowledgment  is  due  to  the  Maker 
and  Ruler  of  all.  The  mind,  which  enabled  the 
jurist  to  plead,  the  statesman  to  devise  and  execute, 
the  orator 

"  The  applause  of  listening  Senates  to  command," 

that  mind,  so  fertile  in  resources  of  power,  and  so 
exerted  in  behalf  of  his  country,  her  laws,  and  her 
rights,  was  given  and  sustained  in  reason  to  the  last, 
by  Him,  in  whom  we  all  "  live,  and  move,  and  have 
our  being."  Let  God  have  the  glory  of  his  genius, 
his  wisdom,  his  eloquence,  his  public  services,  his 
political  influence,  and  his  solemn  death. 

Whence  but  from  heaven  can  the  succession  of 
such  men  be  expected  ?  To  God  alone  can  the  nation 
look  for  public  characters,  who  shall  be  equally  able 
and  equally  willing  to  serve  the  United  States  of 
America.  In  time  past,  God  has  given  to  our  country 
great  minds  as  well  as  great  natural  landmarks. 
Bounded  with  mighty  oceans,  and  coursed  by  vast 
rivers,  and  prairies,  and  mountains,  our  land  has  been 
the  birth-place  of  Washington,  and  Franklin,  and 
Henry,  and  Jefferson,  and  Adams,  and  Marshall,  and 
Jay,  and  many  other  names  of  national  immortality. 
But  never  have  appeared  simultaneously  in  American 
history  three  statesmen  of  superior  mental  greatness 
to  Calhoun,  Clay,  and  Webster.  The  general  mourn- 
ing, which  followed  the  departure  of  each  from  the 


118  EULOGY    ON 

theatre  of  their  common  fame,  shows  a  nation's  esti- 
mate of  its  great  public  loss.  And  never  was  mourn- 
ing more  universal,  and  less  interrupted  by  party 
prejudices,  than  over  the  last  of  the  three  —  the 
Champion  of  the  Constitution.  In  the  beautiful  lan- 
guage of  one  of  America's  chief  poets  : ! 

•'The  great  are  falling  from  us;    to  the  dust 

Our  flag  droops  midway,  full  of  many  sighs; 
A  nation's  glory  and  a  people's  trust 

Lie  in  the  ample  pall  where  Webster  lies. 

"  The  great  are  falling  from  us,  one  by  one, 
As  fall  the  patriarchs  of  the  forest  trees ; 
The  winds  shall  seek  them  vainly,  and  the  sun 
Gaze  on  each  vacant  space  for  centuries. 

"  Lo  !    Carolina  mourns  her  steadfast  pine, 

Which,  like  a  mainmast,  towered  above  her  realm ; 
And  Ashland  hears  no  more  the  voice  divine 
From  out  the  branches  of  her  stately  elm. 

"And  Marshfield's  giant  oak,  whose  stormy  brow 
Oft  turned  the  ocean  tempest  from  the  west, 
Lies  on  the  shore  he  guarded  long  :    and  now 
Our  startled  Eagle  knows  not  where  to  rest." 

But  God  will  continue  to  give  us  great  men,  if  we 
put  not  undue  confidence  in  them.  There  are  sap- 
lings in  our  American  forests  which  may  yet  attain 
to  equal  elevation  with  Upland,  or  Hanover,  or  Salis- 
bury growth ;  and  the  American  eagle,  when  it  no 
more  shall  find  high  resting-places  for  its  glory,  will 


1  T.  Buchanan  Read. 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  119 

soar  away  into  heaven  and  die  in  the  light  of  the 
dazzling  sun. 

2.  The  influence  of  eaely  religious  training  and 
of  association  in  the  formation  of  character  is  one 
of  the  plainest  inferences. 

Daniel  "Webster  was  well  trained  and  well  se  - 
<-iated  all  his  early  years.  He  was  cradled,  and  nur- 
tured, and  fellowshipped  by  the  wise  and  good.  Few 
men  have  had  better  influences  to  grow  up  under 
than  the  Salisbury  boy.  until  after  he  left  his  Frye- 
burg  retirement,  and  came  to  Boston.  Early  edu<  ■- 
tion  marked  its  traces  upon  his  character,  distinctly 
visible.  Like  the  even  flow  of  a  crystal  current 
wearing  into  the  rock  of  the  mountain,  his  training 
wrought  into  the  solid  range  of  his  thought  and  soul. 
Fathers !  mothers !  take  care  of  your  children ! 
Without  thorough  religious  influences,  there  i-  littl 
hope  of  future  restraint  upon  their  passions,  or  of  the 
right  application  of  their  talents.  Unattended  to  in 
their  early  days,  your  sons  will  grow  up  to  become 
like  the  deceitful  brook  —  dry  in  the  season  of  need, 
and  pouring  down  wild  torrents  in  every  storm. 

3.  The  value  of  an  academical  and  collegiate 
education  is  another  important  lesson. 

If  Daniel  Webster  had  not  been  furnished  with  the 
discipline  of  a  complete  education,  his  mind  never 
could  have  received  that  intellectual  expansion  which 
made  him  so  srreat  anions:  his  fellows.     The  academv 


120  EULOGY    ON 

and  college  are  the  workshops  of  busy  minds.  He 
was  early  indentured  to  his  profession,  and  acquired 
his  civil  and  political  skill  from  lessons  in  the  ancient 
classics,  in  philosophy,  history,  and  literature,  and 
from  the  mind-sharpening  processes  of  youthful  com- 
petition and  industry.  The  rule  of  greatness  is  early 
diligence  and  acquirement.  There  are  indeed  excep- 
tions to  this  rule,  but  never  exceptions  like  unto 
Daniel  Webster.  Such  men  are  men  of  trained  at- 
tainment, of  early-wrought  cultivation;  not  left  to 
the  rare  contingency  of  self-development,  but  nur- 
tured out  by  the  skilful  influence  of  preparatory 
study,  mental  discipline,  and  learned  acquisition. 
Our  academies  and  colleges  are  the  training-places  of 
able  public  and  professional  men.  Let  them  be  sus- 
tained and  multiplied  !     Let  learning  be  honored  ! 

4.  A  great  encouragement  is  presented  in  the  life 
of  Daniel  Webster   to  the   laudable  aspirings   of 

YOUNG   MEN   IN  .  HONEST    POVERTY. 

Ambition,  misdirected  and  earthly,  is  a  curse  to 
the  soul  that  harbors  it.  But  there  is  a  pure  and 
commendable  desire  to  do  one's  best,  which  is  alike  the 
dictate  of  patriotism  and  of  Christianity.  Webster 
once  engaged  in  the  commonest  employments  among 
men.  Reputable  but  lowly,  his  intellect  and  perse- 
verance elevated  him  to  the  highest  stations  and 
honors  of  his  country.  Many  a  common  school-boy 
will  feel  the  influence  of  his  example ;  many  a  stu- 


DANIEL     WEBSTER.  llil 

dent  of  Dartmouth  and  other  American  colleges  will 
be  stimulated  by  the  rising  fortunes  of  the  farmer's 
son;  and  many  a  teacher,  toiling  over  the  double 
work  of  instructing  others  and  of  self-instruction, 
will  gain  energy  from  the  scenes  of  Fryeburg,  which 
led  up  to  the  heights  of  legal  and  political  distinc- 
tion. All,  of  every  condition  and  age,  may  learn 
t'mm  Webster  to  do  their  best  for  their  country.  But 
a  right  ambition  stops  not  there.  And  if  he  failed, 
in  any  respect,  in  the  fulness  of  a  true  example,  let 
all  remember  that  it  is  our  duty  to  do  our  best  for  our 
country  and  for  our  God. 

"  Let  all  the  ends  thou  aim'st  at  be  thy  country's,  ■ 
Thy  God's,  and  truth's." 

5.  The  capriciousness  of  public  opinion  is  one  of 
the  truths  of  the  occasion. 

Public  men  cannot  count  upon  a  full  reward  of 
their  eminent  services  at  the  tribunal  of  popular 
favor.  This  life  is  a  life  of  discipline  ;  and  none  need 
its  trials  and  disappointments  more  than  those  who 
mingle  in  the  great  scenes  of  the  world's  affairs.  Nor 
are  any  more  sure  of  experiencing  disappointments  in 
large,  embittering  measures.  Every  statesman  at 
times  is  made  to  realize  the  capriciousness  of  public 
opinion,  and 

"Finds  the  people  strangely  fantasied." 

Mr.  Webster  received  many  testimonies  of  high  na- 
il 


122  EULOGY    ON 

tional  homage,  and  yet  the  highest  was  given  not  to 
him,  but  to  far  inferior  men.  It  is  no  departure  from 
truth  to  say  that  Harrison  and  Taylor  never  once 
breathed  the  intellectual  inspirations  which  were  the 
daily  motions  of  Webster's  soul.  And  yet  such  men 
were  preferred  before  him.  But  no  fame  of  theirs. — 
though  the  fame  of  battles  and  of  victories,  —  can 
equal  the  triumphs  of  genius,  wrought  by  thee, 
Statesman,  Jurist,  and  Orator,  of  a  deathless  renown  ! 
Thou  wast  spared  the  sight  of  the  last  contest,  and 
the  fruitless  efforts  of  a  faithful  few!  God  himself 
withdrew  thy  illustrious  name  from  the  struggle, 
wrapping  thee  away  from  the  dust  of  an  inglorious 
arena  in  the  majestic  pall  of  a  statesman's  mantle ! 

6.  The  homage  paid  by  intellect  to  Cheistianity 
is  illustrated  in  the  life  of  this  great  man. 

Mr.  Webster's  public  speeches  and  addresses, 
throughout  out  his  whole  career,  are  pervaded  with 
religious  thought,  and  the  acknowledgment  of  Chris- 
tianity. It  is  stated  by  his  Marshfield  pastor  that  he 
contemplated  writing  a  book  on  the  Evidences  of 
Christianity,  so  much  interest  did  he  entertain  in  that 
great  subject.  Behold,  then,  another  great  name 
added  to  the  long  list  of  those  whose  highly  culti- 
vated intellects  sustain  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  on 
its  external  and  internal  evidences.  Let  the  sceptic 
pause  in  view  of  the  confounding  testimony  of  such 
an  array  of  minds,  capable  of  far-reaching  discrimi- 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  123 

nation,  of  severe  investigation,  and  patient  deduction 
of  truthful  conclusions. 

Among  Mr.  Webster's  many  public  declarations  in 
homage  of  religion,  are  the  following  sentences  of  an 
address  delivered  in  commemoration  of  his  old  friend 
and  compeer,  Jeremiah  Mason: 

"But,  Sir,  political  eminence  and  professional  fame  fade  away 
and  die  with  all  things  earthly.  Nothing  of  character  is  really 
permanent  but  virtue  and  personal  worth.  These  remain.  What- 
ever of  excellence  is  wrought  into  the  soul  itself  belongs  to  both 
worlds.  Real  goodness  does  not  attach  itself  merely  to  this  life  ; 
it  points  to  another  world.  Political  or  professional  reputation 
cannot  last  forever ;  but  a  conscience  void  of  offence  before  God 
and  man,  is  an  inheritance  for  eternity.  Religion,  therefore,  is  a 
necessary  and  indispensable  element  in  any  great  human  cha- 
recter.  There  is  no  living  without  it.  Religion  is  the  tie  that 
connects  man  with  his  Creator,  and  holds  him  to  his  throne.  If 
that  tie  be  all  sundered,  all  broken,  he  floats  away,  a  worthless 
atom  in  the  universe,  its  proper  attractions  all  gone,  its  destiny 
thwarted,  and  its  whole  future  nothing  but  darkness,  desolation, 
and  death.  A  man  with  no  sense  of  religious  duty  is  he  whom 
the  Scriptures  describe,  in  such  terse  but  terrific  language  as 
living  'without  God  in  the  world.'  Such  a  man  is  out  of  his 
proper  being,  out  of  the  circle  of  all  his  duties,  out  of  the  circle 
of  all  his  happiness,  and  away,  far,  far  away,  from  the  purposes 
of  his  creation." 

7.  The  end  of  eaethly  gkeatness  is  seen  at  the 
Marshfield  grave. 

There  is  an  appointed  season  unto  man  of  life 
and  of  death.  Both  his  soul  and  his  dust  are  under 
providential  doom;  and  generation  after  generation 
passes  away,  amidst  crumbling  thrones  and  universal 


124  EULOGY    ON 

instability.     Human   elevation,  at    best   a  tottering 
pinnacle,  falls  at  death. 

"  The  boast  of  heraldry,  the  pomp  of  power, 

And  all  that  beauty,  all  that  wealth  e'er  gave, 
Await  alike  th'  inevitable  hour  : 

The  path  of  glory  leads  but  to  the  grave." 

The  death  of  Webster  is  the  expression  of  a  uni- 
versal law  —  of  a  law  which  regulates  the  setting,  as 
well  as  the  rising,  of  the  star  of  human  destiny. 
This  great  man,  closing  his  eyes  in  death,  declares, 
with  speechless  solemnity,  more  eloquent  than  living 
utterance,  that  "political  and  professional  reputation 
cannot  last  for  ever ;  but  a  conscience  void  of  offence 
towards  God  and  man  is  an  inheritance  for  eternity." 
"  Political  eminence  and  professional  fame  fade  away 
and  die  with  all  things  earthly.  Nothing  of  character 
is  really  permanent  but  virtue  and  personal  worth." 

8.  Personal  religion,  the  highest  form  of  worth, 
is  the  true  glory  and  joy  of  a  statesman. 

Alas!  that  the  character  we  have  been  contem- 
plating should  fail  in  inspiring  the  same  trust  in  its 
religious  attributes  as  it  commands  in  its  other  forms 
of  greatness !  If  the  illustrious  statesman  had  ex- 
hibited the  transparent  and  consistent  piety  of  Wil- 
liam Wilberforce,  or  John  Jat,  what  an  amount  of 
service  might  have  been  rendered  in  the  spiritual 
kingdom,  as  well  as  in  the  political  world !  The 
example  of  public  men,  and  especially  of  great  public 


DANIEL    WEBSTER.  125 

men,  is  influential  on  a  large  scale.  May  God  never 
curse  our  country  with  greatness  dissevered  from 
goodness !  The  religion  of  Jesus  Christ,  which  is  the 
only  true  basis  of  individual  character,  is  the  only 
safe  support  of  the  State. 

Pergonal  piety  includes  more  than  an  acknowledg- 
ment of  Christianity  as  a  system  of  religious  belief; 
it  has  holier  exercises  than  a  mere  respect  for  sacred 
things;  it  implies  more  than  an  outward  morality, 
however  severe.  Originating  by  the  grace  of  God  in 
"faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  it  "works  by  love, 
purifies  the  heart,  and  overcomes  the  world."  Works 
are  the  evidence  and  the  expression  of  faith ;  and 
trust  cannot  be  sincere,  however  clear  may  be  credence, 
without  the  accompanying  fruits  of  righteousness. 
Religion,  heartfelt  and  sustaining,  is  the  want  of  our 
nature.  The  highest  attainments  of  worldly  fame 
can  never  satisfy  the  immortal  soul.  It  grasps  for 
something  that  is  divine  and  enduring.  All  else  is  a 
reed, — brittle  and  deceitful, — which  no  one  may  rest 
upon  in  a  dying  hour.  "A  rod — thy  rod  ;  a  staff — 
thy  staff" — "  that  is  what  we  want"  when  we  go  out 
to  walk  alone  in  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death. 


11* 


BATTLE  OF  LAKE  GEOKGE. 


(127) 


An  Historical  Discourse,  on  the  occasion  of  the  centennial  eelebra- 
tion  of  the  Battle  of  Lake  George,  1755,  delivered  at  the  Court  House, 
Caldwell,  N.  Y.,  September  8th,  1855. 


(128; 


HISTORICAL    DISCOURSE. 


Citizens  of  "Warrex  County  axd  Visitors  at  the  Lake  : 
The  echoes  of  a  hundred  years  resound  throughout 
the  mountain-passes.  The  roar  of  provincial  cannon 
thunders  amidst  the  flash  of  Battle ;  and,  from  noon 
to  the  setting  sun,  armies  contend  for  victory  on  the 
shore  of  the  peaceful  and  trembling  lake. 

To-day  the  great  events  of  other  generations  are 
marshalled  by  memory  into  their  original  order  and 
commanding  position;  and  as  Americans,  victorious 
then,  as  in  a  greater  conflict,  we  are  assembled  to 
commemorate  the  triumphs  of  the  olden  time. — 
Eighteen  hundred  cmd  fifty-five  sends  back  to  seventeen 
hundrt  d  and  fifty- five  the  congratulations  of  a  century, 
over  the  inheritance  deeded  and  signed  on  the  battle- 
field of  Lake  George  on  the  8th  of  September. 

Lake  George  and  vicinity  is  the  classic  ground  of 
the  Old  French  War.  Every  hill-top  threw  the  sha- 
dow of  warlike  scenes  into  the  lake,  and  its  southern 
and  northern  shores  were  spectators  of  the  decisive 
events  which  at  length  ended  in  the  subjugation  of 
Canada  and  the  prosperity  of  the  old  American  colo- 

I  (129) 


130  BATTLE     OF 

nies.  A  very  brief  notice  of  the  discovery  and  ante- 
cedent history  of  the  lake,  will  open  to  us  a  view  of 
the  Old  French  War  and  the  battles  of  a  former  cen- 
tury. It  will  be  my  object,  as  a  sort  of  ranger,  to 
bring  some  account  to  you  here,  at  the  old  head-quar- 
ters, of  the  events  that  occurred  on  this  field  of  his- 
torical interest. 

The  sun  and  stars  of  thousands  of  years  have  im- 
aged the  glory  of  God  in  the  crystal  waters  of  the 
beautiful  lake.  Ages  before  the  Indian  tracked  his 
path  along  the  mountains  or  glided  his  canoe  through 
the  depths  of  the  water-valley,  this  landscape  had 
reality  in  all  the  grace  and  grandeur  of  a  divine  crea- 
tion. Before  Iroquois,  or  Saxon,  or  Celt,  looked  with 
delight  upon  the  foliage  green  of  the  hills,  or  the 
emerald  green  of  the  lake,  nature  worshipped  here 
in  festival  solitude  and  silence  on  the  altar  dedicated 
to  the  well-known  God.  The  history  of  the  lake, 
like  the  mist  that  sometimes  covers  its  waters,  ob- 
scures the  far  distance. 

"  In  the  horizon  of  the  Past, 
The  cloudy  summits  of  lost  cycles  rise, 
Like  cumuli,  far  onward  to  the  point 
Where  distance  vanishes  in  dreaminess." 

The  Indians  were  the  original  and  undisputed  pro- 
prietors of  this  secluded  heritage, — the  domain  of  the 
Six  Nations,  or  Iroquois,  including  both  this  and  the 
adjoining  lake   on  the    outskirts  of  their   hunting- 


LAKE     GEORGE.  131 

ground.  The  first  European  or  civilized  man  who  is 
known  to  have  penetrated  this  glorious  Indian  re- 
serve, was  the  celebrated  Champlain.  In  1609,  at 
the  head  of  an  expedition  of  savages  from  Canada, 
against  the  Iroquois,  he  ascended  the  lake  which  now 
bears  his  name ;  and  in  his  account  of  the  expedition, 
he  refers  to  the  "waterfall"  between  the  two  lakes, 
which  he  himself  "  saw,"  describes  this  lake  as  being 
three  or  four  leagues  in  length,  and  mentions  the  dis- 
tance from  its  head  to  be  about  four  leagues  to  the 
river  which  flows  towards  the  coast  of  the  Almou- 
chiquois,  or  New  England  Indians.  Having  given 
his  own  name  to  the  larger  lake,  which  was  the  scene 
of  his  achievements,  Champlain  was  content  to  be- 
queath to  the  lesser  lake  the  renown  of  his  own  record 
and  an  untitled  nobility  of  nature. 

The  next  European  who  is  known  to  have  tra- 
versed these  regions,  was  Father  Jogues,  a  French 
Roman  Catholic  missionary,  who,  in  1646,  was  com- 
missioned to  ratify  the  treaty  of  peace  made  between 
the  French  and  the  Iroquois.  On  his  way  from  Can- 
ada to  the  Mohawk,  he  arrived  at  the  outlet  of  the 
smaller  lake  on  the  eve  of  the  festival  of  Corpus 
Christ  i,  or  sacrament  of  the  body  of  Christ,  and,  in 
commemoration  of  the  event,  he  gave  it  the  name  of 
St.  Sacrament. 

From  this  time  not  much  is  known  of  the  annals 
of  the  lake,  till  General  William  Johnson  encamped 


132  BATTLE     OF 

upon  its  shores,  with  his  army  of  provincial  soldiers, 
in  1755.  During  the  interval,  however,  it  is  quite 
certain  that  the  lake  was  more  or  less  used  as  a 
channel  of  intercommunication  with  Canada,  both  in 
furtherance  of  friendly  commerce  and  of  hostile  mili- 
tary expeditions.  When  General  Johnson  reached 
the  lake,  he  affirms  that  "no  house  was  ever  before 
built  here,  nor  a  rod  of  land  cleared."  The  ancient 
trees  of  the  forest  welcomed  the  old  soldier  in  their 
unbroken  and  waving  battalions,  and  gave  him  good 
ground  to  encamp  upon,  good  lake-water  to  quench 
his  thirst,  and  a  good  clear  sky  for  his  canopy. 

The  Old  French  War  originated  in  the  long  hered- 
itary national  animosities  between  France  and  Eng- 
land. The  British  queen  and  the  French  monarch 
exchanged  no  visits  of  royal  courtesy  in  those  days ; 
and,  instead  of  banquets  and  feasting  at  Windsor  and 
Versailles,  martial  music  and  the  display  of  arms 
were  everywhere  the  mutual  salutations.  The  treaty 
of  Utrecht,  made  in  1713,  guaranteed  to  England  all 
Nova  Scotia,  with  its  ancient  limits,  and  to  the  Five 
Nations,  as  subject  to  Great.  Britain,  the  peaceable 
enjoyment  of  all  their  rights  and  privileges.  The 
treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle,  in  1748,  was  so  indefinite 
in  its  terms,  that,  although  a  peace  was  agreed  to,  on 
the  basis  of  the  treaty  of  Utrecht,  no  settlement  was 
made  of  the  difficulty  which  had  given  rise  to  the 
war  in  America.    There  was  a  vague  agreement  that 


LAKE     GEOKGE.  133 

the  boundaries  in  America  should  remain  as  they 
were  before  the  war ;  but  for  a  quarter  of  a  century 
before  the  war  the  lines  had  been  the  subject  of  per- 
petual contention.  Thus  provision  may  almost  be 
said  to  have  been  made  by  treaty  for  the  speedy 
opening  of  a  new  campaign,  and  the  fires  of  war 
were  to  be  rekindled  on  the  very  altar  of  peace. 
What  rendered  the  indefinite  terms  of  the  treaty 
peculiarly  exceptionable  and  unfortunate,  was  the 
fact  that  the  French  had  erected,  in  1721,  a  fort  at 
Crown  Point,  within  territory  always  claimed  by 
Great  Britain  and  the  Iroquois.  So  intent,  indeed, 
had  France  been  on  territorial  aggrandizement,  that 
before  the  signing  of  the  treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle. 
in  1748,  she  had  erected  nearly  twenty  forts,  beside,- 
block-houses  and  stockade  trading-places,  on  soil 
claimed  by  Great  Britain.  The  peace  on  her  part 
was  merely  a  truce  to  prepare  more  extensive  plans 
of  commercial  and  military  operations ;  and,  like  the 
brief  interval  granted  lately  for  the  burial  of  the 
dead  at  Sebastopol,  which  the  Russians  emplo}Ted  to 
strengthen  their  fortress,  so  France,  at  Aix-la-Cha- 
pelle, truced  England  into  inactivity,  whilst  she  her- 
self wove  the  banner  of  war  and  burnished  her  armor 
for  a  long  campaign.  Without  regard  to  treaty  stipu- 
lations, France  commenced  prosecuting  her  schemes 
of  aggrandizement,  not  only  in  the  American  Colo- 
12 


134  BATTLE    OF 

nies,  but  in  Nova  Scotia,  in  the  East  and  West  In- 
dies, and  in  the  Mediterranean. 

The  object  of  France  in  North  America  was  to 
obtain  possession  of  the  great  valley  of  the  West, 
and  to  connect  Canada  and  Louisiana  by  a  chain  of 
forts  and  trading-places,  and  thus  hem  in  the  colonies, 
and,  perhaps,  eventually  gain  possession  of  them,  and 
secure  a  communication  for  Canada  with  the  ocean 
through  New  York.  When  the  Ohio  Land  Company 
was  chartered,  in  174'J,  with  a  view  to  the  settle- 
ment of  the  territory  between  the  Monongahela  and 
the  Kanawha,  the  Governor-General  of  Canada  sent 
an  armed  band  of  three  hundred  men  down  the  Ohio 
Valley,  to  retain  possession  of  the  country  in  the 
name  of  France,  and  to  expel  the  English  traders 
from  its  borders.  In  every  practicable  manner,  the 
French  aimed  at  maintaining  the  vantage-ground 
which  English  inactivity  had  enabled  them  to  seize. 
They  attempted  to  proselyte  the  Six  Nations,  to 
foment  disturbances  among  the  Indians  in  general, 
to  undersell  the  British  traders,  to  gain  possession  of 
Lake  Ontario  by  building  a  large  vessel  of  war,  and 
still  further  to  increase  their  power,  they  had  turned 
their  trading-house  at  Niagara  into  a  fort. 

The  first  blood  shed  by  the  French  within  the 
limits  of  the  old  thirteen  colonies,  in  the  Old  French 
War,  was  at  the  Indian  village  of  Piqua,  in  Western 
Ohio,  in    the  year  1752.     A  contest  which  was  to 


LAKE    GEORGE.  135 

determine  the  future  destiny  of  the  mighty  West, 
thus  commenced  on  its  own  territory ;  and  its  influ- 
ence was  to  be  felt  throughout  Europe,  in  Asia,  and 
in  the  West  Indies,  as  well  as  in  North  America.    In 
1753,  the  French  detached  a  body  of  twelve  hundred 
men  to  occupy  the  Ohio  Valley,  and  the  Governor  of 
Virginia  despatched  George  Washington  to  protest 
against  the  invasion.     This  brave  young  man,  then 
only  twenty-one  years  of  age,  traversed  the  forests  of 
Maryland  and  Western  Pennsylvania  as  far  as  Fort 
Le   Boeuf,  which  was  within  a  few  miles  of  Lake 
Erie.     The    French    commander   of  the    forces,   Le 
(Jardeur  de  St.  Pierre,  who  was  afterwards  slain  at 
the  battle  of  Lake  George,  maintained  the  right  of 
his  sovereign  to  the  soil.    In  1754,  Washington,  now 
a  lieutenant-colonel,  was  sent  with  a  regiment  to  pro- 
tect P>ritish  rights  in  the  West,  and  to  finish  the  fort 
at    the    forks   of  the    Monongahela    and  Alleghany 
rivers;  but,  after  an  engagement  with  Jumonville, 
he  was   compelled  to  retreat  to  Fort  Necessity,  to 
capitulate,  and  to  withdraw  the  English  garrison  to 
the  east  of  the  Alleghanies.     France,  at  this  time, 
was  dominant  throughout  the  valleys  of  the  Ohio  and 
Mississippi,  and  England  had  not  in  the  great  West 
a  flag  to  cast  even  a  shadow  on  the  soil. 

In  June,  1754,  the  first  American  Congress  met  in 
the  city  of  Albany.  Its  principal  object  was  to  devise 
measures  of  defence,  and  to  conciliate  the  Iroquois 


L36  BATTLE    OF 

Indians,  whose  sachems  assembled  at  Albany  for  con- 
ference. This  first  Congress  is  famous  for  the  Plan  of 
Union  it  proposed  for  all  the  Colonies  on  the  basis  of  a 
Federal  Government.  Benjamin  Franklin  was  the 
author  of  the  measure,  which,  however,  did  not  meet 
with  sufficient  favor  to  secure  a  trial  at  that  time. 
The  same  illustrious  man  foresaw  the  future  great- 
ness of  the  country  ''back  of  the  Appalachian  Moun- 
tains," and  advised  the  immediate  organization  of  two 
colonies  in  the  West  —  the  one  on  Lake  Erie,  the 
other  in  the  valley  of  the  Ohio,  with  its  capital  on 
the  banks  of  the  Scioto.  Franklin,  as  a  statesman. 
displayed  on  this  occasion  a  penetration  of  intellect 
as  vivid  as  the  lightning  which,  as  a  philosopher,  wras 
flashed  down  to  him  from  heaven. 

In  view  of  the  alarming  state  of  things  in  the 
Colonies,  England  despatched  General  Braddock,  as 
commander-in-chief,  with  two  regiments  of  regular 
troops.  War  had  not  yet  been  openly  declared  be- 
tween England  and  France;  but  both  nations  were 
actively  pursuing  their  belligerent  plans  in  anticipa- 
tion of  a  speedy  crisis.1  Braddock  arrived  in  Vir- 
ginia in  the  spring  of  1755,  and  summoned  a  council 
of  the  governors  of  the  Colonies  at  Alexandria. 
Three  expeditions  were  determined  on.  The  first, 
under  Braddock  himself,  was  to  march  to  the  Ohio, 

1  War  was  not  declared  until  the  following  year — by  England 
on  the  18th  of  May,  1156,  and  by  France  on  the  9th  of  June. 


LAKE    GEORGE.  137 

obtain  possession  of  Fort  Duquesne,  and  then  pro- 
ceed according  to  circumstances.     The  second,  under 
Governor  Shirley,  was  to  reduce  Fort  Niagara,  and 
to  maintain  possession  of  Oswego.     The  third,  un 
General  William  Johnson,  was  to  take  possession  of 
Fort  St.  Frederick,  at  Crown  Point,  and  drive  the 
French  from  the  colony  of  New  York.     The  lattei 
expedition  was,  perhaps,  the  most  important  of  the 
three.     The    province  of  New  York  was   more   ac- 
cessible than  any  other  to  the  enemy;  Fort  St.  Fre- 
derick, Fort  Niagara,  and   Fort  Presentation,  were 
encroachments  upon  its  immemorial  jurisdiction  ;  the 
province  was  central  to  the  other  provinces ;  its  chief 
city  had  the  finest  harbor  on  the  Atlantic  coast;  ■ 
the  council-fires  of  the  Six  Nations  burned  at  Onon- 
daga, the  head-quarters  of  these  influential  and  brave 
tribes  of  Indians. 

The  rendezvous  of  both  Shirley's  and  Johnson's 
expedition  was  Albany.  Most  of  the  troops  designed 
for  Johnson's  command  arrived  there  before  the 
end  of  June,  and  were  obliged  to  remain  for  some 
time  in  camp,  waiting  for  the  artillery,  boats,  provi- 
sions, and  other  necessaries.  In  the  meanwhile,  the 
provincials  became  discontented  with  the  inactivity 
of  a  long  encampment;  and  Major-General  Lyman 
was  obliged  to  make  short  marches  in  the  line  of  des- 
tination in  order  to  prevent  them  from  disbanding. 
When  he  had  advanced  to  the  "great  carrying-place." 
12* 


138  BATTLE     OF 

he  waited  for  the  arrival  of  General  Johnson,  and 

commenced  building  a  fort  on  the  east  side  of  the 
Hudson,  which  was  afterwards  called  Fort  Edward, 
"  in  honour  of  the  second  prince  of  the  blood  of  that 
name/'  On  the  8th  of  August,  General  Johnson  set 
out  from  Albany,  with  the  artillery  and  other  stores, 
and  reached  the  "great  carrying-place  "  on  the  14th, 
having  been  detained  two  days  by  some  dissatisfac- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  Connecticut  troops.  On  the 
22d,  a  council  of  war  was  held  to  determine  what 
route  should  be  taken  to  Crown  Point;  and  it  was 
the  unanimous  opinion  of  the  council  that  the  road 
to  "  Lake  St.  Sacrament  appears  to  them  the  most 
eligible,  and  that  it  be  immediately  set  about."  It 
was  further  resolved  to  send  forward  two  thousand 
men,  to  cut  the  road  and  to  build  "  a  place  of  arms 
and  magazines  "  at  the  head  of  the  lake.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  newrs  of  Braddock's  defeat,  which  had 
reached  the  army  about  a  month  before,  the  spirits 
of  the  troops  were  now  depressed  by  a  report  that 
the  French  were  advancing  towards  Crown  Point  in 
overwhelming  numbers;  and  the  Indians  declared 
that  the  English  were  no  match  for  them,  but  must 
be  surely  defeated.  Johnson  writes  that  he  ought  to 
have  eight  thousand  men,  and  that  the  reinforce- 
ments ought  to  advance  as  rapidly  as  possible. 

On  the  26  th  of  August,  Johnson  sets  out  for  Lake 
St.  Sacrament,  a  distance  of  about  seventeen  miles; 


LAKE    GEOKGE.  139 

and,  after  three  days'  marching,  reaches  there,  or  rather 
here,  on  the  evening  of  the  28th.  What  a  sight  was 
such  a  lake  to  an  army  of  men  that  had  never  before 
looked  upon  its  mountain-guarded  waters  !  Often  did 
Johnson,  and  Lyman,  and  Williams,  and  Hendrick 
with  their  companions-in-arms,  gaze  with  wonder  at 
a  scene  whose  enchantments  are  fresh  with  the 
morning  light  and  renewed  with  the  setting  sun. 

"Alas!    beside  that  beauteous  wave 
Shall  many  an  unreturning  brave 
Find  his  last  bivouac  —  the  grave  ! 
In  his  lost  home  his  name  grow  dim, 
And  low  woods  sigh  his  requiem  1" 

The  name  of  the  lake  was  changed  by  Johnson 
from  St.  Sacrament  to  Lake  George,  "  not  only  in 
honour  to  his  majesty,  but  to  ascertain  his  undoubted 
dominion  here"  —  a  name  now  become  historical,  and 
properly  enough  commemorative  of  provincial  times, 
and  of  the  important  events  that  occurred  under  the 
reigning  king. 

The  plan  of  operations  arranged  by  General  John- 
son was  to  construct  a  fort,  proceed  up  the  lake  with 
a  part  of  the  army,  as  soon  as  the  boats  arrived, 
and  take  possession  of  Ticonderoga;  and,  waiting 
there  until  the  rest  of  the  army  came  up,  proceed  to 
attack  Crown  Point.  On  the  evening  of  the  7th  of 
September,  however,  the  Indian  scouts  bring  intelli- 
gence that  they  had  discovered  a  large  road  cut  from 


140  BATTLE     OF 

South  Bay,  and  were  confident  that  a  considerable 
number  of  the  enemy  were  marching  to  the  "great 
carrying-place."  Johnson,  surprised  and  perplexed, 
perhaps  doubts  the  report.  About  midnight,  intelli- 
gence comes  that  the  enemy  were  discovered  four  miles 
this  side  of  the  "  carrying-place."  Nothing,  however, 
was  done  for  the  safety  of  Fort  Edward  until  the 
next  morning',  when  a  council  was  called.  In  the 
language  of  General  Johnson,  "the  Indians  were  ex- 
tremely urgent  that  one  thousand  men  should  be  de- 
tached, and  a  number  of  their  people  would  go  with 
them,  in  order  to  catch  the  enemy  in  their  retreat  from 
the  other  camp,  either  as  victors,  or  defeated  in  their 
design." 

The  enemy  proved  to  be  a  French  force  of  nearly 
two  thousand  men,  regulars,  Canadians,  and  Indians, 
under  the  command  of  Baron  Dieskau.  This  French 
general  had  arrived  at  Quebec  in  the  spring,  with 
nearly  two  thousand  regular  troops.  His  original 
plan  was  to  proceed  up  the  river  St.  Lawrence  to 
Lake  Ontario,  and  to  capture  the  fort  at  Oswego. — 
But  Montreal  was  so  much  alarmed,  at  the  news  of 
an  English  army  on  its  march  to  Fort  Frederick,  and 
perhaps  into  Canada,  that  the  Baron  was  importuned 
to  proceed  to  the  defence  of  Fort  Frederick,  which 
he  finally  consented  to  do  with  great  reluctance. 
Having  waited  some  time  for  the  approach  of  the 
English  army,  he  determined  to  go  and  meet  them 


LAKE     GEORGE.  141 

himself.  His  scheme  was  bold  and  precise.  Pie  v,  as 
to  attack  Fort  Edward  first,  which  was  defended  by 
a  garrison  of  only  four  hundred  men ;  then  to  fall 
upon  the  camp  at  Lake  George,  where  victory  was 
supposed  to  be  within  his  reach,  as  the  camp  was  re- 
ported to  be  destitute  of  either  artillery  or  intrench- 
ments ;  and  afterwards  desolate  Albany  and  Schenec- 
tady, and  cut  off  communication  with  Oswego.  It 
seems,  however,  that  when  Dieskau  was  within  two 
miles  of  Fort  Edward,  the  Indians  refused  to  attack  it, 
on  account  of  their  peculiar  dread  of  cannon;  but, 
on  their  declaring  a  willingness  to  attack  the  camp, 
Dieskau  changed  his  plans  and  turned  towards  the 
lake. 

It  is  Sabbath-day  in  the  provincial  camp.  The 
bustle  of  war  does  not  prevent  the  arrival  of  wagons, 
work  at  the  fort,  and  preparations  for  the  campaign. 
But  God  is  not  forgotten  by  all.  A  venerable  chap- 
lain,1 whose  locks  are  white  with  age,  is  seen  taking 
his  station  in  the  shade  of  the  forest-trees.  He  is 
the  chaplain  of  Williams'  regiment,  the  third  regi- 
ment of  Massachusetts,  and  Williams  is  there.  With 
him  are  Ruggles,  and  Titcomb,  and  Whiting,  and 
other  officers.  The  soldiers  of  New  England  attend 
with  reverential  appearance ;  and  Hendrick  and  a 
band  of  Iroquois  loiter  in  the  distance,  with  their 

1  Rev.  Stephen  Williams,  of  Long  Meadow,  Massachusetts. 


142  BATTLE     OF 

eyes  turned  to  the  assembly.  After  singing,  —  per- 
haps the  46th  psalm,  to  the  tune  of  "Old  Hun- 
dred,"— prayer  is  offered  up  to  the  God  of  their  fathers. 
The  Puritan  preacher  then  takes  for  his  text  the 
words  of  Isaiah  :  "  Which  remain  among  the  gravi  e 
and  lodge  in  the  mountains."  Were  these  words, 
alas  !  prophetic  ?     Let  us  turn  to  the  narrative. 

The  detachment  of  one  thousand  provincial  troops, 
despatched  to  arrest  Dieskau's  progress  and  to  aid 
Fort  Edward,  was  commanded  by  Colonel  Ephraim 
Williams,  of  Massachusetts.  It  set  out  between 
eight  and  nine  o'clock  on  Monday  morning,  and  con- 
sisted of  three  divisions.  Colonel  Williams  starts  in 
advance  with  the  first  division  of  five  hundred  men. 
halts  at  Rocky  Brook,  about  half  a  mile  from  the  place 
where  the  attack  occurred,  and  waits  for  the  other 
divisions  under  Hendrick  and  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Whiting.  The  Indians  soon  follow,  in  command  of 
the  great  Mohawk  chief.  Being  advanced  in  years, 
and  corpulent  in  person,  he  rides  on  horseback.  Erect 
in  the  dignity  of  a  noble  Indian  presence,  the  old 
sachem  has  cast  his  last  look  on  the  lake,  and  taken 
the  road  into  the  forest  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy. 
During  this  halt  of  Colonel  Williams,  the  enemy 
place  themselves  in  ambuscade.  Our  party  then 
march  forward,  the  Indians  leading  the  way,  and 
enter  the  defile.  One  of  the  enemy's  muskets  going 
off  prematurely,  they  are  discovered,  and  immediately 


LAKE     GEORGE.  143 

they  commence  the  attack  on  our  Indians.  The  war- 
whoop  resounds  through  the  woods,  and  volleys  of 
musketry  from  the  Abenakis  Indians  on  the  left,  and 
from  the  regulars  in  front,  strew  the  ground  with  the 
dying.  The  brave  old  Hendrick  falls, — a  conspicuous 
mark  to  men  of  unerring  aim.  The  Mohawks,  un- 
certain and  alarmed,  move  back  to  where  Colonel 
Williams  is,  a  short  distance  behind ;  and  at  the 
same  moment  our  troops  march  up  to  their  support. 
The  engagement  becomes  general.  At  this  time,  in 
the  early  part  of  the  engagement,  Colonel  Williams 
mounts  a  rock  for  the  purpose  of  reconnoitering ;  and. 
in  the  act  of  ordering  his  men  to  go  higher  up  the 
hill  on  the  right,  he  is  immediately  shot  down.  It 
soon  became  evident  to  our  officers  that  the  French 
had  posted  themselves  on  both  sides  of  the  road  for 
the  purpose  of  surrounding  and  cutting  off  the  de- 
tachment. A  retreat  was  therefore  ordered,  which 
was  conducted  with  consummate  skill  by  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Whiting,  of  New  Haven,  who  had  previously 
distinguished  himself  at  the  taking  of  Louisburg, 
Nova  Scotia.  The  firing  had  been  heard  at  the 
camp,  about  two  hours  after  the  departure  of  the  de- 
tachment. It  drew  nearer  and  nearer.  Our  men 
were  retreating ;  and  General  Johnson  orders  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Cole,  at  the  head  of  three  hundred 
men,  to  cover  the  retreat,  which  was  accomplished 
with  some  success.     Although  defeated  by  superior 


144  BATTLE    OF 

numbers,  our  men  had  fought  bravely.  Rallying  for 
a  short  time  behind  the  Bloody  Pond,  they  brought 
many  of  the  enemy  to  the  earth.  It  was  afterwards 
found  that  nearly  one  half  of  the  killed  on  both  sides 
had  Mien  in  the  desperate  preliminary  encounter  of 
the  morning. 

The  Americans  were  encamped  about  a  quarter  of 
a  mile  from  the  head  of  the  lake,  being  protected  on 
either  side  by  a  low,  thick-wooded  swamp.  After  the 
•march  of  the  detachment,  General  Johnson  drew  up 
some  heavy  cannon  from  the  margin  of  the  lake,  a 
distance  of  about  five  hundred  yards  from  his  front. 
Trees  were  also  felled  to  form  a  breastwork,  the 
proper  intrenchments  having  been  unaccountably 
neglected.  On  some  -of  the  eminences  to  the  left, 
where  Fort  George  now  stands,  cannon  were  drawn 
up  and  advantageously  posted.  After  these  hurried 
preparations  of  a  few  hours,  our  retreating  soldiers 
come  in  sight  in  large  bodies,  with  the  enemy  in  full 
pursuit.  Among  those  who  climb  the  intrenchments, 
Hendrick  and  Williams  are  not  seen.  All  is  confu- 
sion. But,  behold,  Dieskau  halts !  For  nearly  fif- 
teen minutes,  when  within  one  hundred  and  fifty 
yards  of  the  encampment,  the  French  general,  instead 
of  making  a  bold  advance  upon  the  lines,  which  the 
disorder  of  the  retreating  corps  might  have  made 
successful,  is  compelled  to  pause,  as  though  Provi- 
dence had  issued  to  him  a  superior  command.     The 


LAKE    GEORGE.  14y 

cause  of  this  delay  is  not  fully  ascertained.  It  may 
have  been  owing  either  to  the  surprise  at  finding  ar- 
tillery arrayed  against  him,  and  the  consequent  diffi- 
culty of  bringing  the  Indians  up  to  the  conflict,  or  it 
may  have  been  with  the  view  of  giving  time  for  the 
Canadians  and  Indians  to  get  on  either  flank,  and 
make  a  simultaneous  attack  with  the  regulars  posted 
on  the  centre.  Whatever  was  the  cause  of  the  delay, 
it  probably  lost  Dieskau  the  victory.  The  provincials 
had  time  to  rally,  and  to  reduce  their  plan  of  defence 
to  better  order ;  and  when  the  French  opened  their 
fire,  the  distance  was  too  great  to  produce  much 
effect.  The  artillery  of  the  provincials  gave  them 
an  advantage  in  the  battle.  It  was  served  by  Cap- 
tain William  Eyres,  an  English  officer,  despatched  bv 
General  Braddock  to  accompany  the  expedition.  The 
battle  at  the  camp  began  between  eleven  and  twelve 
o'clock;  and  the  wonder  is  that  the  French,  with 
inferior  numbers,  and  without  artillery,  could  sustain 
the  conflict  for  more  than  four  hours.  The  attack  on 
the  centre  by  the  regulars  was  obstinately  persevered 
in  for  more  than  an  hour.  This  proving  unavailing, 
Dieskau  then  attacked  the  right,  where,  on  account 
of  there  being  no  cannon,  there  seemed  a  better  pros- 
pect of  success.  A  heavy  loss  of  the  provincials 
occurred  in  this  quarter,  in  the  regiments  of  Titcomb, 
Ruggles,  and  Pomeroy ;  but  their  bravery  corres- 
ponded with  the  emergency,  and  the  enemy  could 
13  K 


146  BATTLE    OF 

gain  no  advantage  in  that  direction.  In  their  attempt 
to  pass  over  the  intrench ments,  the  old-fashioned 
musket;,  in  the  hands  of  brave  New  England  farmers, 
did  terrible  work.  The  battle  on  the  right  raged  for 
nearly  two  hours,  when  Dieskau  again  attacked  the 
front,  and  then  the  right  and  the  left,  and  at  last 
attempted  to  come  in  on  the  rear  of  the  army,  when 
General  Lyman,  perceiving  the  danger,  ordered  some 
shells  to  be  thrown,  which,  together  with  the  fire  of 
sonic  thirty-two  pounders,  made  the  enemy  retire  in 
great  disorder.  The  Indians,  who.  at  an  early  period 
in  the  battle,  had  taken  possession  of  the  rising 
ground  near  where  Fort  William  Henry  now  stands, 
were  soon  terrified  by  shots  from  a  cannon,  which  was 
in  position  on  one  of  the  eminences  near  Fort  George. 
After  a  long  conflict,  sustained  chiefly  by  the  regu- 
lars, the  French  begin  to  fly.  Victors  in  the  morn- 
ing, the  survivors  hurry  back  at  the  setting  sun,  van- 
quished, wearied,  and  dreading  their  doom.  Dieskau, 
severely  wounded,  is  taken  prisoner. 

As  the  English  neglected  to  pursue,  the  French 
halted  about  three  miles  from  the  camp,  near  Bloody 
Pond  and  Rocky  Brook,  where  the  engagement  of  the 
morning  had  been  renewed.  The  halt  at  this  parti- 
cular spot  seems  to  have  been  partly  owing  to  the 
desire  of  the  Indians  to  obtain  plunder,  and  to  secure 
the  scalps  of  those  who  had  fallen  in  the  early  en- 
gagement ;  but  it  is  a  busy  day,  and  they  must  think 


LAKE    GEORGE.  147 

of  their  own  scalps.  At  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening, 
a  reinforcement  from  Fort  Edward  of  two  hundred 
men  falls  unexpectedly  upon  them,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Captain  William  McGinnes,  of  Schenectady. 

After  a  contest  of  two  hours,  our  party  gained 
possession  of  the  baggage  and  ammunition  of  the 
French,  which  was  conveyed  to  the  camp  the  next 
morning;  and  the  French  retreated  still  farther 
towards  Lake  Champlain,  having  learned  the  danger 
of  encamping  for  the  night  too  near  their  foe. 

The  victory  was  decisive.  If  the  enemy  had  been 
pursued  without  delay,  the  whole  body  might  have 
been  cut  off  and  made  prisoners.  General  Johnson's 
first  error  was  in  neglecting  an  immediate  and  vigorous 
pursuit.  General  Lyman  urged  it  with  unusual  ve- 
hemence, and  the  spirit  of  officers  and  men,  aroused 
by  war  and  flushed  by  triumph,  was  equal  to  the 
endurance.  When  the  tide  of  battle  is  once  turned. 
it  sweeps  against  the  vanquished  with  terrific  im- 
petuosity. If  that  tide  in  our  affairs  had  been  taken 
at  its  flood,  it  might  have  led  our  army  to  the  double 
fortune  of  a  victory  on  the  battle-field  and  the  cap- 
ture of  the  enemy  in  their  flight.  Instead  of  pur- 
suing, our  army  retired  to  their  encampment  on  the 
shores  of  the  tideless  lake,  content,  like  it,  with 
repose  after  the  surges  of  the  day.  General  Johnson 
excused  his  conduct  by  the  plea  that  he  had  reason 
to  expect  a  renewal  of  the  attack,  and  that  it  was 


MS  BATTLE    OF 

dangerous  to  weaken  the  main  body  by  detachments 
to  scour  the  country.  But  the  enemy  was  in  no  con- 
dition to  rally  after  the  loss  of  their  General  and  of 
almost  all  the  regular  soldiers ;  and  the  true  way  to 
strengthen  the  main  position  of  the  victors  was  to 
take  advantage  of  the  enemy's  defeat  by  throwing 
out  detachments  to  cut  them  off  before  reaching  their 
boats  on  Lake  Champlain.  The  enemy  were  far  more 
fatigued  than  the  Americans,  in  consequence  of  their 
forced  marches  towards  the  camp ;  and  there  can  be 
little  doubt  that,  had  the  opinion  of  General  Lyman 
and  other  officers  prevailed,  Dieskau's  band  would 
never  have  seen  Ticonderoga  or  Fort  St.  Frederick. 

General  Johnson's  second  capital  error  was  in  not 
carrying  forward  with  alacrity  the  immediate  object 
of  his  expedition — which  was  the  reduction  of  Crown 
Point.  The  idea  seems  early  to  have  gained  entrance 
into  the  General's  mind,  that  the  victory  at  Lake 
George  was  glory  enough  for  one  campaign.  Only 
ten  days  after  the  battle,  on  the  18th,  he  writes  that 
it  is  doubtful  whether  the  expedition  can  advance  to 
Ticonderoga  this  year.  At  a  council  of  war,  how- 
ever, held  four  days  later,  the  officers  unanimously 
decided  that  it  was  best  to  proceed  as  soon  as  the 
expected  reinforcements  had  arrived.  Governor  Shir- 
ley remonstrated  with  Johnson  against  his  reluctance 
to  push  forward  his  army,  and,  in  a  letter  to  him 
dated   the    25th    of  September,  says :    "  If  nothing 


LAKE     GEORGE.  149 

further  could  be  done  in  this  campaign  than  gaining 
Ticonderoga,  yet  that  would  be  carrying  a  great  point 
for  the  protection  of  the  country  behind,  this  year, 
and  facilitation  of  the  reduction  of  Fort  St.  Frederick 
the  next  spring." 

Whilst  waiting  for  reinforcements,  it  was  decided 
to  build  a  fort  —  the  officers  being  in  favour  of  a  small 
stockade  fort,  capable  of  holding  one  hundred  men. 
whilst  Johnson  desired  the  erection  of  a  large  one, 
capable  of  defence  against  an  army  with  artillery. 
Finally,  Johnson's  plan  was  adopted.  The  months 
of  September  and  October  passed  away  in  sending 
out  scouts  and  in  fort-building,  until  the  men  became 
dispirited,  wearied,  and  desirous  of  returning  home. 
Towards  the  end  of  October,  the  council  of  officers 
decided  that,  on  account  of  the  lateness  of  the  sea- 
son, the  disaffection  of  the  soldiers,  and  the  want  of 
supplies,  it  was  inexpedient  to  proceed  with  the  ex- 
pedition. At  this  time  there  were  four  thousand  five 
hundred  men  in  the  camp.  The  great  objects  of  the 
army  were  thus  unaccomplished ;  and,  instead  of  oc- 
cupying Ticonderoga,  which  of  itself  would  have 
been  an  important  position  in  advance,  the  delay 
enabled  the  enemy  to  gain  possession  of  it  and  fortify 
it,  greatly  to  our  subsequent  loss  and  disadvantage. 

Notwithstanding  General  Johnson's  apparent  errors 
in  not  taking  full  advantage  of  his  victory,  it  is  cer- 
tain that  the  battle  of  Lake  George  has  points  of 
13* 


150  BATTLE     OF 

honourable  distinction,  worthy  of  a  centennial  com- 
memoration 

Considering  its  time  and  circumstances,  the  battle 
of  Lake  George  had  a  number  of  distinguished  men 
to  give  character  to  the  conilict.  On  the  side  of  the 
enemy,  who  took  the  aggressive  on  the  occasion,  was 
Baron  de  Dieskau,  an  officer  of  some  distinction  in 
the  armies  of  France.  Be  had  been  selected  as  a 
commander  able  to  take  charge  of  the  important  work 
i)i'  superintending  the  military  operations  of  the  em- 
pire in  the  Western  World.  ;i  Boldness  wins  "  was 
Dieskau's  maxim.  This  he  exemplified,  at  least  in 
part,  in  marching  with  about  two  thousand  men  to 
find  the  enemy,  and  into  the  very  centre  of  our  mili- 
tary operations.  Fortunately  for  us,  "  boldness  "  did 
not  "win"  on  that  occasion.  Dieskau,  at  the  head 
of  his  forces,  employs  in  vain  strategy  and  military 
skill.  The  language  of  France  and  its  crown-lilies 
of  white  are  unheeded  and  dishonoured  in  the  forests 
of  America.  The  brave  general  receives  a  deadly 
wound ;  and  he  who  had  rallied  battalions  on  the  fields 
of  Europe,  and  had  sailed  up  the  St.  Lawrence  and 
Lake  Champlain  with  the  ambition  to  win  a  fame  in 
the  New  World,  sits  upon  a  stump,  in  the  midst  of 
his  slain,  with  hopes  blasted,  projects  thwrarted,  army 
defeated,  wounded  in  body  and  in  spirit,  and  with 
the  doom  of  death  darkly  before  his  eye.  Dieskau, 
after  his   capture,  informed  General  Johnson  that, 


LAKE    GEORGE.  .     151 

only  a  few  hours  before,  he  had  written  to  the  Gov- 
ernor-General of  Canada  that  he  was  driving  the  Eng- 
lish before  him  like  sheep,  and  that  he  expected  that 
night  to  lodge  in  General  Johnson's  tent.  The  ex- 
pectation was  verified ;  as  prisoner,  and  not  victor, 
Dieskau  entered  the  American  camp  ;  and,  instead  of 
the  congratulations  of  victory,  he  received  the  honest 
sympathies  of  American  soldiers  towards  a  defeated 
and  wounded  general,  carried  within  their  intrench- 
ments  on  a  blanket.  After  the  lapse  of  a  century, 
those  sympathies  remain  fresh  and  unimpaired.  Ho- 
nour to  the  memory  of  the  gallant  and  unfortunate 
Dieskau ! 

Another  of  the  distinguished  men  in  the  French 
ami}-  was  Le  Gardeuk  de  St.  Pierre.  He  was  a 
brave  officer,  and  remarkable  for  the  zeal  and  energy 
with  which  he  advanced  the  interests  of  his  king, 
especially  among  the  Indians,  with  whom  he  had 
very  great  influence.  He  had  confronted  Washington 
three  years  before  at  Fort  Le  Bceuf,  which  was  con- 
structed in  Western  Pennsylvania  for  the  mainte- 
nance of  the  claims  of  France.  It  was  chiefly  through 
his  instrumentality  that  the  Indians  of  Dieskau's  ex- 
pedition were  gathered  together  and  organized.  Ho 
received  his  death-wound  in  the  forests  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  his  earthly  greatness  came  to  an  end  in  the 
battle  of  September  8th,  1755. 

On  the  English  side,  General  Johnson,  the  com- 


L52  BATTI/B    OF 

mander-in-chiefj  was  a  distinguished  character  in  th< 
province.  He  had  been  superintendent  of  Indian 
affairs  for  several -years,  and  possessed  an  acute  mind 
and  executive  talents  of  a  high  order.  His  private 
morals  were  bad;  but,  like  other  public  men  of  thai 
day  and  this,  his  moral  demerit  was.  unfortunately, 
no  bar  to  his  public  renown.  The  King  of  Great 
Britain  conferred  on  him  a  baronetcy,  and  Parliament 
voted  a  tribute  to  his  triumph  of  £5000.  The  name 
of  Sir  William  Johnson  will  go  down  to  posterity 
with  titled  honors  and  military  distinction. 

Major-General  Lyman,  the  real  hero  of  the  battle 
in  the  estimation  of  some,  directed  the  movements 
of  the  provincial  army  the  greater  part  of  the  day. 
The  command  had  devolved  upon  him  in  consequence 
of  a  wound  received  by  General  Johnson  in  the  earl} 
part  of  the  engagement;,  which  compelled  him  to  with- 
draw to  his  tent.  Lyman  was  in  the  thickest  of  the 
fight,  and  guided  the  movements  of  the  field  with 
discretion  and  energy.  He  was  an  accomplished,  edu- 
cated man,  high  in  rank  at  the  bar,  a  civilian  of 
some  eminence,  and  deserves  well  of  his  country  for  his 
military  services  on  September  8,  1755.  It  is  not  to 
the  credit  of  General  Johnson  that  he  does  not  even 
mention  the  name  of  General  Lyman  in  the  official 
account  of  the  battle.  Nor  was  it  very  courteous  in 
Johnson  to  change  the  name  of  Fort  Lyman,  at  the 


LAKE    GEORGE.  15o 

carrying-place,  to  Fort  Edward,  which  he  did  only  a 
few  days  after  the  battle. 

Colonel  Ephraim  Williams  was  a  prominent  actor 
in  the  scenes  we  commemorate.  In  the  former  war 
of  1744,  he  commanded  the  line  of  forts  on  the  west- 
ern side  of  the  Connecticut  river,  and  resided  princi- 
pally at  Fort  Massachusetts,  which  was  about  three 
miles  east  of  what  is  now  Williamstown.  In  passing 
through  Albany,  on  his  way  to  the  seat  of  war,  he 
made  his  will  on  the  22d  of  July.  After  giving  cer- 
tain legacies  to  his  relatives,  he  bequeathed  the  re- 
mainder of  his  property  to  the  founding  of  a  free- 
school  on  the  western  frontiers  of  Massachusetts,  at 
a  place  Avhich  received  the  name  of  Williams  town,  in 
honour  of  the  donor.  In  1790,  the  sum  had  accu- 
mulated to  nearly  $20,000;  $0000  of  which  was 
used,  with  a  similar  amount  from  other  sources,  in 
erecting  a  large  building  for  the  academy.  In  1793, 
the  academy  was  chartered  by  the  State  as  a  college. 
and  was  called  Williams  College.  It  was  a  great 
thought  in  the  mind  of  Williams  to  establish  an  institu- 
tion of  learning.  His  fame  rests  upon  a  more  enduring 
rock  than  the  reconnoitering-stone  of  a  military  offi- 
cer ;  and  his  monument  is  seen,  not  merely  by  glances 
in  a  mountain-ravine,  but  on  the  highway  of  nations 
and  in  the  heathen  as  well  as  the  civilized  world. — 
It  was  Williams  College  that  sent  out  the  first  Ameri- 
can missionaries  to  Asia;    and  her  graduates  have 


154  BATTLE    OF 

the  honour  of  originating  the  American  Board  of 
Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions.  The  alumni  of 
the  College  last  year  erected  ;i  tasteful  monument  to 
the  memory  of  its  founder.  His  remains  were  disin- 
terred some  twenty  years  ago.  A  stone,  with  the 
initials  E.  W.,  1705,  marks  the  original  plaee  of  his 
burial,  which  was  a  few  rods  south  of  the  monument, 
on  the  western  side  of  the  old  road. 

Old  Hendrick,  the  Mohawk  sachem,  fell  in  the 
battle  of  Lake  George.  He  was  the  greatest  Indian 
chief  of  his  day.  Sagacity  and  moderation  were  the 
basis  of  his  character.  Brave  in  the  field,  he  was 
wise  in  council.  His  integrity  was  incorruptible; 
and  his  friendship  to  the  American  colonies,  whose 
chain  was  consecrated  at  council-fires,  was  strength- 
ened in  the  heat  of  trial.  Two  characteristic  anec- 
dotes are  told  of  him,  as  incidents  of  the  battle  of 
September  8th,  1775.  His  opinion  being  asked  in 
regard  to  the  number  of  men  at  first  proposed  for  the 
detachment  of  the  morning,  he  replied  :  "  If  to  fight, 
too  few;  if  to  be  killed,  too  many."  The  number 
was  accordingly  increased ;  but  General  Johnson  pro- 
posed to  send  them  out  in  three  divisions.  Hendrick 
took  three  sticks,  and,  putting  them  together,  said  : 
"  Put  these  sticks  together,  and  you  can't  break  them  ; 
take  them  one  by  one,  and  you  will  break  them 
easily."  Previously  to  the  setting  out  of  the  detach- 
ment, Hendrick  harangued  his  people  in  strains  of 


LAKE     GEORGE.  15-J 

fervid  eloquence.  He  was  among  the  earliest  killed. 
He  had  advanced  so  far  into  the  ambuscade  that  the 
fire  from  the  flank  hit  him  in  the  back.  He  was  at 
the  head  of  the  Indians,  as  represented  in  Blodget's 
view  of  the  battle,  and  must  have  fallen  several  hun- 
dred yards  in  advance  of  Williams ;  probably  a  third 
of  the  way  between  the  monument  and  the  present 
toll-gate.  The  Indians  on  our  side  sustained  the 
chief  attack  of  the  morning.  Out  of  two  hundred 
men  they  lost  nearly  one-fourth,  and  every  one  of 
their  officers.  They  complained  to  General  Johnson 
that  they  had  been  sacrificed  by  the  backwardness 
of  our  men.  The  sticks  mentioned  by  old  Hendrick 
had  not  been  tied  closely  enough  together. 

Israel  Putnam,  who  afterwards  became  a  famous 
general  in  the  American  Revolution,  and  who  shared 
with  Warren  and  Stark  the  glories  of  Bunker  Hill, 
was  a  private  soldier  in  the  battle  of  Lake  George. 
He  was  one  of  Williams'  men  in  the  detachment  of 
the  morning.  Lake  George  was  a  training-place  of 
his  future  greatness.  He  was  frequently  employed, 
after  the  battle,  in  reconnoitering  the  enemy.  He 
was  the  ranger  of  the  lake.  He  was  the  scout  of  the 
mountain.  His  eye  could  detect  an  Indian's  trail, 
and  take  unerring  sight  with  his  old  musket  at  any 
mark  worthy  the  snap  of  the  flint.  The  rotund, 
jovial  figure  of  "Old  Put"  has  been  often  imaged  in 
the  waters  of  the  lake  and  shadowed  along  the  moun- 


1  :'t'»  BATTLE     OF 

tain  glens;  and,  in  the  regiment  of  Lyman,  no  man 
did  heavier  work  than  he  on  the  8th  of  September, 
1755. 

The  famous  John  Stark  was  in  the  army,  as  lieu- 
tenant; but,  as  the  New  Hampshire  regiment  was 
stationed  for  the  defence  of  Fort  Edward,  it  is  pro- 
bable that  Stark  was  on  duty  there,'  and  not  in  the 
battle. 

Other  distinguished  officers  and  men  were  on  the 
battle-field,  and  among  them  was  the  brave  Colonel 
Titcomb,  who  was  the  only  officer  killed  in  the  en- 
campment, and  whose  regiment,  posted  on  the  ex- 
treme right,  was  obliged  to  sustain  the  brunt  of  Dies- 
kau's  attack  on  that  side.  The  graves  of  Titcomb, 
McGinnis,  and  the  other  officers  who  fell,  are,  no 
doubt,  with  us  to  this  day ;  and,  although  the  dark 
oblivion  of  a  century  intercepts  their  individual  re- 
cognition, tradition  points  the  present  generation  to 
the  "officers'  graves." 

Let  us  now  notice  some  of  the  circumstances  which 
gave  to  the  battle  of  Lake  George  a  renown  beyond 
the  mere  numbers  engaged  in  the  contest. 

I.  The  battle  of  Lake  George  is  memorable  in  de- 
feating a  well-laid,  dangerous  scheme  of  the  enemy, 
and  in  saving  the  province  from  scenes  of  bloodshed 
and  desolation.  If  Dieskau  had  succeeded  in  over- 
throwing Johnson  in  his  intrenchments,  his  advance 
upon  Fort  Edward  would  have  been  easily  successful, 


LAKE     GEORGE.  157 

and  from  thence  his  march  to  Albany  would  have 
been  triumphant.  Old  Hendrick,  at  the  Convention 
of  the  preceding  year,  had  warned  the  province  of 
its  danger.  "You  are  without  any  fortifications," 
said  he :  "  It  is  but  a  step  from  Canada  hither ;  and 
the  French  may  easily  come  and  turn  you  out  of 
doors."  The  conflagration  of  our  northern  settle- 
ments would  have  been  followed  by  the  desolation  of 
Albany  and  Schenectady;  and,  although  Dieskau 
must  have  soon  been  compelled  to  retreat,  it  is  im- 
possible to  estimate  the  bloodshed,  plunder,  and  gene- 
ral losses  which  might  have  taken  place,  had  not  God 
ordered  it  otherwise.  His  providence  was  on  our 
side.  The  victory  of  Lake  George  undoubtedly  res- 
cued the  province  from  injury  and  woe  beyond  com- 
putation. Considered,  therefore,  in  its  immediate 
strategical  results,  the  battle  was  one  of  the  import- 
ant engagements  of  American  history. 

II.  The  battle  of  Lake  George  is  remarkable  for 
its  influence  in  rallying  the  spirit  of  the  American  colo- 
nies. Much  had  been  expected  from  the  three  expe- 
ditions sent  against  the  French  ;  but  disappointment 
and  sorrow  had  already  followed  Braddock's  terrible 
defeat.  That  event  had  occurred  only  two  months 
before,  on  the  9th  of  July.  It  was  more  than  the 
moaning  of  the  forest-pine  in  the  ears  of  the  solitarj- 
traveller ;  it  was  the  blaze  of  lightning  falling  upon 
the  mountain-oak  in  his  very  path,  followed  by  the 
14 


158  BATTLE     OF 

crash  of  thunder.  All  the  provinces  were  amazed, 
awe-struck,  paralyzed,  for  a  time;  but,  recovering 
from  the  first  shock  of  the  calamity,  they  were 
aroused  to  avenge  their  loss.  Their  hopes  were 
turned  to  Lake  George  and  to  Niagara,  and  not  in 
vain.  Johnson's  victory  was  received  as  the  precur- 
sor of  a  recovered  military  position  and  fame,  and 
was  hailed  as  the  means  of  deliverance  from  a  bold 
and  cruel  foe.  Few  battles  ever  produced  more  im- 
mediate results  in  rekindling  patriotic  and  martial 
enthusiasm.  Congratulations  poured  in  upon  General 
Johnson  from  every  quarter.  Not  only  were  the 
colonies  filled  with  rejoicing,  but  the  influence  of  the 
triumph  went  over  to  England,  and  the  deeds  of  our 
fathers  at  the  camp  of  Lake  George  became  familiar 
to  the  ears  of  Royalty  and  were  applauded  by  the 
eloquence  of  Parliament.  The  moral  effects  of  a 
battle  in  which  the  forces  arrayed  against  each  other 
were  comparatively  small,  have  rarely  been  greater 
and  more  decided  in  the  whole  range  of  military 
annals. 

Til.  Viewed  simply  in  a  military  aspect,  the  battle 
of  Lake  George  was  the  only  successful  achievement, 
within  the  thirteen  colonies,  during  the  campaign  of 
1755;  which  is  another  item  of  its  various  renown. 
Braddock's  defeat  on  the  Monongahela,  and  Shirley's 
retreat  from  Oswego,  brought  ruin  upon  the  expe- 
ditions framed  for  the  reduction  of  Forts  Duquesne 


LAKE     GEORGE.  159 

and  Niagara.  Although  the  northern  expedition  failed 
in  its  object  of  reducing  Fort  Frederick,  it  had  a  show 
of  glory  in  the  brilliant  success  of  a  hard-fought  battle. 
Success  in  one  direction  often  overbalances  disappoint- 
ment in  another.  The  victory  of  General  Johnson 
was  the  great  event  of  the  campaign  of  1755,  solitary 
in  the  honors  of  its  military  triumph,  and  shining 
out,  bright  as  Mars,  from  the  clouds  of  night. 

IV.  The  victory  of  Lake  George  occurred  in  the 
series  of  campaigns  that  ended  in  the  conquest  of 
Canada,  and  of  the  valley  of  the  Great  West.  Here, 
in  the  forest,  was  the  base  of  a  line  of  operations  on 
which  were  wrought  out  great  problems  of  war.  The 
mountains  of  the  lake  were  landmarks  to  conduct 
our  armies  from  summit  to  summit  of  achievement, 
until,  passing  over  all  barriers,  they  found  their  rest- 
ing-place in  the  valleys  of  St.  Lawrence  and  Missis- 
sippi. Unknown  results  of  territorial  acquisition, 
and  of  political  and  religious  destiny,  lay  concealed 
in  the  expedition  which  started  for  the  capture  of  a 
single  fort  on  Lake  Champlain,  and  for  the  defence 
of  the  limited  boundary-line  of  a  province.  God  dis- 
poses of  man's  proposals.  The  lucid  purposes  of  an 
all-comprehensive  Providence  undiscernible  by  mortal 
eyes,  are  brought  to  pass  by  the  majestic  develop- 
ments of  events  apparently  remote  in  their  relations 
as  trivial  in  their  magnitude.  The  American  victory 
of  Lake  George  was  not  an  isolated  item  of  one  cam- 


160  BATTLE     OF 

paign.  It  was  more  than  a  simple  triumph  in  an  un- 
broken wilderness,  —  a  military  achievement  of  the 
New  England  and  New  York  yeomanry,  which  saved 
themselves  from  destruction.  Far  higher  its  moral, 
political,  and  warlike  connections.  It  headed  a  series 
of  successes  that  were  followed  by  the  gain  of  king- 
doms. It  animated  the  determination  of  the  country 
to  take  decisive  measures  for  deliverance  from  French 
aggressions  and  agitations.  "Canada,  my  lord," 
wrote  a  distinguished  New  Yorker,  in  reviewing  the 
operations  of  the  campaign,  "  Canada  must  be  de- 
molished,—  Delenda  est  Carthago,  —  or  we  are  un- 
done." '  The  result  was  not  anticipated  at  the  be- 
ginning, but  the  natural  tendency  of  the  contest  was 
the  overthrow  of  French  dominion  on  the  continent. 
Johnson's  victory  had  a  true  influence  of  relation  to 
this  end.  As  the  southern  inlet  near  Fort  George 
joins  itself  to  the  lake,  whose  waters  flow  to  the 
north,  and,  tossed  over  cascades  and  waterfalls,  pass 
into  the  St.  Lawrence,  so  the  expedition  of  1755, 
identifying  itself  with  a  vast  expanse  of  agencies, 
pressed  forward  the  natural  current  of  its  direction, 
over  the  rocks  and  reverses  of  campaigns,  into  Canada. 
But  Canada  was  only  a  part  of  the  great  acquisitions 
of  the  war.  The  whole  Northwest  was  wrested  from 
France,  together  with  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi 
lying  easterly  of  that  river,  with  the  exception  of 

1  Review  of  Military  Operations,  etc.,  p.  143. 


LAKE    GEORGE.  161 

the  island  of  Orleans.     Thus  we  stand  to-day  at  one 
Of  the  fountain-heads  of  American  destiny. 

A  .  The  battle  of  Lake  George  was  furthermore 
memorable  in  its  suggestions  of  provincial  prowess, 
and  in  its  lessons  of  warfare  to  the  colonies  preparatory 
to  their  independence.  The  battle  was  fought  by 
provincial  troops,  and  chiefly  by  the  hardy  sons  of 
glorious  New  England.  The  veteran  regulars  of  Old 
England  had  been  beaten  in  the  forests  of  "Western 
Pennsylvania,  or  remained  inactive  in  the  Niagara 
expedition.  Through  some  unaccountable  cause,  the 
expedition,  which  was  on  the  direct  line  to  Canada, 
and  nearest  to  the  French  reinforcements,  known  to 
be  at  hand,  was  consigned  to  the  exclusive  care  of 
native  colonial  soldiers  ;  and  bravely  did  they  do 
their  duty.  On  these  shores  provincial  prowess  sig- 
nalized its  self-relying  and  unaided  capabilities;  and 
in  this  battle  and  in  this  war  the  colonies  practically 
learned  the  value  of  union  and  the  unconquerable 
energies  of  a  free  people.  Putnam,  and  Stark,  and 
Pomero}^,  came  here,  as  to  a  military  academy,  to 
acquire  the  art  of  warfare ;  and  they  all  exercised 
their  experience  at  Bunker  Hill.  George  Washing- 
ton, himself,  as  a  military  man.  was  nurtured  for 
America  and  the  world  amid  the  forests  of  the  Alle- 
ghanies  and  the  rifles  and  tomahawks  of  these  French 
and  Indian  struggles.  Lake  George  and  Saratoga 
are  contiguous  not  merely  in  territory,  but  in  heroic 
14*  L 


162  BATTLE    OF 

association.  Correlative  ideas,  evolved  under  va r v  ing 
circumstances,  they  are  proofs  of  the  same  spirit  of 
liberty,  the  same  strong  energy  of  purpose, 

"And  courage  quailing  not,  though  hosts  oppose.  " 

The  battle-scenes  of  the  Old  French  War  and  of  the 
Revolution,  are  match-pictures  in  the  gallery  of  his- 
tory, to  be  handed  down  together  to  all  generations. 
The  influence  of  the  Old  French  War,  as  the  training- 
field  of  the  American  Revolution,  was  incalculably 
great.  During  all  this  period,  too,  apolitical  conflict 
was  going  on  in  almost  all  the  provinces,  between 
their  legislative  bodies  and  the  commissioners  of  the 
plantations  in  England ;  so  that,  while  resisting  from 
principle  what  were  regarded  as  arbitrary  exactions. 
the  colonies  were  becoming  conversant  with  their  own 
military  and  political  strength,  which  was  laying  itself 
up  in  store  for  the  crisis  of  revolutionary  emer- 
gencies. 

In  view  of  these  considerations,  the  battle  of  Lake 
George  well  deserves  some  prominence  of  the  coun- 
try's annals. 

A  few  words  about  the  forts  must  not  be  omitted 
on  this  historical  occasion. 

Fort  William  Henry  was  built  by  General  John- 
son, just  a  century  ago.  The  original  site  of  the  en- 
campment extended  from  the  lake  a  quarter  of  a  mile, 
or  upwards,  with  the  old  road  as  the  centre,  being 


LAKE    GEORGE.  16o 

flanked  by  the  marshy  land,  and  having  the  irregu- 
lar eminences,  on  one  of  which  Fort  George  was  after- 
wards built,  as  part  of  the  encampment.  A  few  days 
before  the  battle,  the  site  where  Fort  William  Henry 
now  stands,  was  selected  for  the  building  of  a  picketed 
fort,  to  contain  one  hundred  men ;  and  Colonel  Wil- 
liams was  charged  with  its  erection,  under  the  man- 
agement of  Captain  Eyres,  the  engineer.  General 
Johnson  was,  from  the  beginning,  opposed  to  a  pick- 
eted fort,  and  in  favour  of  a  regular  military  struc- 
ture, capable  of  resisting  artillery.  This  contest  be- 
tween Johnson  and  his  officers  was  probably  the  index 
of  opposite  views  in  regard  to  the  campaign  at  that 
time,  —  Johnson  wishing  to  remain  at  Lake  George 
and  construct  a  large  fortification,  while  the  officers 
aimed  at  putting  up  a  temporary  defence  and  pro- 
ceeding at  once  to  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point. 
After  a  contest  of  nearly  a  month,  during  which  time 
General  Johnson  managed  to  secure  the  opinion  of 
the  general-in-chief  and  the  acting  governor  of  the 
State  in  favour  of  his  views,  and  it  becoming  evident 
that  the  expedition  could  not  advance  this  season, 
the  council  of  officers  n greed  to  change  the  plan  of  a 
small  stockade  fort  into  a  more  regular  work,  capable 
of  holding  five  hundred  men.  This  opinion  was 
arrived  at  on  the  29th  of  September,  and  the  new 
fortification  was  immediately  commenced,  prosecuted 
with  some  vigour,  and  finished  in  about  two  months. 


1G4  BATTLE    OF 

The  name  William  Henry  was  given  by  Genera] 
Johnson  "in  honour  of  two  of  the  royal  family." — 
The  site  of  the  fort  always  had  opponents.  It  was 
"faulted  by  Montresaor,  the  chief-engineer;"  and 
General  Johnson  was  early  obliged  to  vindicate  it 
from  the  objections  still  prevailing. 

The  history  of  Fort  William  Henry  is  a  short  and 
mournful  one.  It  capitulated,  after  a  brave  defence, 
to  the  French  general,  .Montcalm,  on  the  9th  of  Au- 
gust, 1757,  and  a  large  part  of  the  garrison  were 
inhumanly  massacred  by  the  Indians.  The  vestiges 
that  remain  are  hallowed  by  ancient  recollections; 
and  the  proprietors  of  the  soil  have  patriotically 
determined  that  the  site  shall  be  forever  reserved 
and  kept  free  from  the  encroachments  of  modern 
improvement. 

The  eminence  at  Fort  George  was  "  lined  out "  by 
General  Abercrombie  in  1758 — the  year  following  the 
destruction  of  Fort  William  Henry ;  but  the  mason- 
work  was  not  built  until  the  following  year,  1759,  by 
the  army  under  General  Amherst.  Its  site  was  part 
of  Johnson's  original  encampment.  It  was  also  the 
encampment  of  a  division  of  Colonel  Monroe's  army 
when  Fort  William  Henry  capitulated.  The  garrison 
at  that  time  embraced  about  five  hundred  men,  and 
the  intrenchments  around  the  eminence  held  seven- 
teen hundred.  One  of  the  first  things  that  Montcalm 
did  was  to  post  a  large  detachment  on  the  road  to 


LAKE    GEORGE.  165 

the  south,  for  the  purpose  of  cutting  off  supplies  from 
the  rear,  and  of  harassing  the  communication  be- 
tween the  intrenchments  and  the  fort.  The  emi- 
nence was  intrenched  by  General  Abercrombie,  after 
his  defeat  at  Ticonderoga.     In  that  disastrous  action 


the  English  had  about  two  thousand  men  killed  and 
wounded.  One  of  the  Highland  regiments,  com- 
manded by  the  gallant  Colonel  Grant,  went  into  the 
action  eight  hundred  strong,  and  came  out  with  the 
loss  of  nearly  one-half.  The  Presbyterian  clergyman, 
before  the  engagement,  ended  his  few  remarks  In- 
saying  :  "  My  lads,  I  ha'e  nae  time  for  lang  preach- 
ments ;  a'  I  ha'e  to  say  is,  nae  cowards  gae  to  heaven." 
Fort  George  has  no  special  renown  on  the  pages  of 
history. 

Fort  Gage  was  built  in  1759,  while  General  Am- 
herst was  at  the  lake.  It  was  named  in  honour  of 
General  Gage,  who  commanded  the  light  infantry. 
Gage  was  with  Braddock  at  the  time  of  his  defeat. 
He  afterwards  received  the  appointment  of  general, 
and  subsequently  was  governor  of  Massachusetts  — 
the  last  provincial  governor  that  the  old  Bay  State 
allowed  in  her  councils. 

The  battles,  the  forts,  the  intrenchments,  the  ruins, 
the  roads,  the  graves,  of  this  vicinity,  are  all  memo- 
rials of  the  Old  French  War.  That  war  resulted  in 
the  most  important  conquests.  It  was,  in  fact,  a  war 
of  Protestant  against  Roman  Catholic  Christianity ; 


166  BATTLE     OF 

and  on  its  issues  the  destiny  of  the  mighty  valleys  of 
the  West  was  pre-eminently  dependent.  God  raised 
up  William  Pitt,  "  the  great  Commoner,"  to  preside 
over  the  affairs  of  England  at  this  critical  period ; 
and  through  his  glorious  administration,  commencing 
in  1757,  England  recovered  her  position  among  the 
nations,  and  resumed  her  wonted  superiority  on  the 
continent.  Prussia  was  the  only  power  that  strug- 
gled with  her,  side  by  side,  against  the  common  foe. 
The  greatest  trophies  won  by  England,  during  the 
war,  were  in  this  Western  World.  The  possession  of 
Canada,  and  the  peaceable  enjoyment  of  her  North 
American  colonies,  were  rewards  worthy  the  struggle 
of  an  Anglo-Saxon  kingdom. 

The  peace  of  1763  enabled  King  George  III.,  who 
had  recently  ascended  the  throne,  to  carry  out  his 
design  of  overawing  the  colonies  by  arbitrary  power. 
William  Pitt,  the  man  of  the  people,  resigned  his 
office,  and  a  different  policy  prevailed.  The  Ameri- 
can Revolution  ensued,  and  France,  our  former  colo- 
nial enemy,  became  our  effective  ally  against  England. 
The  Revolutionary  War  is  naturally  the  one  that 
most  deeply  stirs  the  heart  of  our  patriotism;  and 
1776,  the  liberty-epoch  in  American  annals,  has  a 
national  priority  over  every  other  historical  period. 
Yet  not  in  vain  does  1755  claim  honour  in  these 
regions  of  the  lake.  Here  the  associations  of  the 
Old  French  War  predominate;  and  history,  interro- 


LAKE    GEORGE.  167 

gating  nature,  learns  from  mountain,  and  lake,  and 
water-brook,  and  plain,  that  armies  here  fought  for 
the  rights  of  crowns  and  for  vast  territorial  domains. 

0  thou  Lake,  islet-decked  as  with  gems  for  maiden 
beauty,  and  intelligent,  in  the  depth  of  thy  clear 
waters,  in  scenes  of  the  olden  time,  we  hail  thee 
to-day,  Reminiscencer  and  Teacher  !  And  you,  ye 
Mountains,  where  come  the  four  seasons,  monarchs 
of  the  solitude,  to  pay  the  tribute  of  the  year,  hail 
to  you  for  the  sight  of  your  majestic  presence,  for  the 
voiced  memories  of  a  century,  for  your  glens,  rever- 
berating with  solemn  sound  the  achievements  of  our 
sires !  Ye  Forts,  weak  in  triple  confederacy,  the 
work  of  man  and  the  contrivance  of  war,  we  rejoice 
that  your  mission  is  over,  and  that  ye  stand  like 
antiquarians,  with  relics  in  your  hands,  rather  than 
as  warriors  equipped  for  the  battle-field  !  And  you, 
ye  graves,  mounding  hill-top  and  plain,  scarcely  dis- 
tinguishable from  the  furrows  of  the  harvest-field, — 
ah !  Death,  who  digs  deeper  than  the  plough,  has 
sown  in  you  the  seeds  of  resurrection,  —  seeds  which 
the  storms  of  centuries  do  but  harrow  for  the  reaping 
at  the  in-gathering  time;  ye  are  fertile  with  the 
bodies  of  men;  and,  when  earth  shall  be  buried  in 
the  ruins  of  its  final  doom,  ye  shall  bring  forth  your 
tenants  clothed  with  immortality  ! 

Every  view  of  the  lake  and  every  pass  of  the  hills 
has  some  tradition  of  ancient  deed  and  story  which 


168  BATTLE    OF 

this  day  commemorates.  In  the  midst  of  the  scenes 
of  our  historical  festival,  let  us  use  our  patriotic  emo- 
tions in  perpetuating  the  records  of  the  past  century 
in  some  consistent  and  enduring  form.  I  venture  to 
propose  that  a  monument  be  erected  at  the  old  battle- 
field of  Lake  George,  on  one  side  of  which  an  appro- 
priate memorial  of  the  contest  shall  be  engraved,  and 
on  another  side  an  epitaph  to  the  courageous  Colonel 
Titcomb  and  the  other  officers  who  died  in  defending 
their  country.  I  also  venture  to  suggest  that  another 
monument  be  erected  to  the  memory  of  Hendrick,  the 
famous  Mohawk  chieftain,  near  the  spot  where  he  is 
supposed  to  have  fallen.  Monuments  are  of  great 
public  use.  They  are  pages  of  history  to  the  people  ; 
they  are  the  rallying-points  of  earnest  patriotism ; 
they  are  records  of  national  gratitude ;  they  are  me- 
morials of  God's  providential  interposition ;  they  are 
pleasing  objects  of  sight  to  the  spectator  and  travel- 
ler, and  have  been  regarded  by  all  civilized  nations 
as  worthy  of  the  public  expenditure,  interest,  and 
care.  Thus  may  the  old  century  receive  fresh  homage 
from  the  new,  and  an  increase  of  glory  emblazon  on 
our  country's  flag  the  inscription  woven  in  upon  it  at 
Lake  George,  of  September  8th,  1755. 

One  hundred  years — one  hundred  years — are  gone. 
Rapid  is  the  roll  of  centuries.  Majestic  clouds  in 
the  firmament  of  time,  they  fleet  away,  bearing  on 
their  diversified  forms  the  light  and  shade  of  human 


LAKE    GEORGE.  169 

destiny.  Everywhere,  as  here,  is  seen  the  vanity  of 
earthly  scenes,  except  as  they  are  connected  with  the 
ends  of  an  everlasting  kingdom.  Eesults  endure, 
but  generations  perish.  Sleeping  are  the  warriors 
that  fought,  the  councillors  that  schemed,  the  people 
that  acted.  The  Celtic  sway  of  the  Bourbon,  once 
dominant  on  the  lake,  is  silent  as  the  graves  of  Cham- 
plain  and  Montcalm.  The  Iroquois  have  vanished 
from  the  forests  and  valleys  of  their  ancient  hunting- 
grounds  ;  and  the  hardy  race  of  Anglo-Saxon  ancestry 
now  occupy  their  possessions  amid  the  land-marks  of 
civil  liberty  and  the  institutions  of  the  Eeformation. 
Welcome  the  new  century  in  the  procession  of  ages ! 
May  the  eras  of  human  improvement  be  contempora- 
ries of  its  advancing  cycles,  and  its  calendar  abound 
in  festival  blessings  for  our  country  and  the  world. 
And  to  thee,  old  century,  farewell !  The  good  of 
the  past  shall  never  die.  When  mountain  and  lake 
shall  flee  away  in  the  retinue  of  time,  and  the  earth 
and  the  firmament  be  scrolled  up  for  eternal  judg- 
ment, the  history  of  these  scenes,  and  all  human 
histories,  shall  be  perpetuated  in  honour  so  far  as 
they  were  tributary  to  the  history  of  redemption. 


15 


THE  ADVANTAGES  OF  COLLEGES. 


(171) 


An  address  delivered  before  the  Pbilomathean  Society  of  Carroll 
College,  Waukesha,  Wisconsin,  July  15th,  1857. 


(172 


ADDRESS. 


Gentlemen  of  the  Philomathean  Society, 
And  Friends  of  the  College  : 
The  first  "commencement"  of  the  first  Presbyte- 
rian College  in  the  United  States,  took  place  in  the 
year  1748.  The  accomplished  and  beloved  Burr,  the 
first  President  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey  under 
the  Charter,  presided  on  the  occasion.  The  com- 
mencement was  held  at.  Newark,  then  a  small  vil- 
lage, not  as  large  as  Waukesha  at  the  time  Carroll 
College  was  located  here.  Governor  Belcher,  the 
friend  of  religion  and  the  patron  of  learning,  was  on 
the  platform;  and  around  him  sat  a  company  of 
honored  Trustees ;  of  ministers,  Samuel  Blair,  Pier- 
son,  Pemberton,  Gilbert  and  William  Tennent,  Treat, 
Arthur,  Jones,  and  Green  ;  and  of  laymen,  Redding, 
President  of  the  Council,  Kinsey,  Shippen,  Smith, 
and  Hazard.  It  was  a  great  day  in  the  annals  of  our 
Church  and  of  the  State.  From  that  small  but  il- 
lustrious beginning,  a  score  of  Colleges  have  come 
into  life  of  Presbyterian  parentage ;  and  now  another 
claims  admittance  into  the  Republic  of  Letters,  fresh 
15*  (173)      • 


1 74  T  H  E    A  D  V  A  N  T  A  G  E  S 

with  the  bloom  of  Academic  youth,  and  holding  high 
the  armorial  bearings  of  a  great  State  emblazoned 
with  "  Forward."  All  hail  to  thee,  daughter,  Wis- 
consin-born !     Salve,  Collegium  Carrollense  ! 

The  first  commencement  of  the  College  of  New 
Jersey  possessed  fewer  auspices  of  greatness  than  the 
one  with  which,  young  gentlemen,  you  are  now  con- 
nected. The  College  of  New  Jersey  in  1748  had  no 
building,  no  Professors,  no  endowment,  no  permanent 
site,  and  only  twenty  students.  The  population  of 
the  adjacent  States  of  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Penn- 
sylvania, Delaware,  and  Virginia,  did  not  exceed  that 
of  Wisconsin  at  the  present  time; '  and  the  Legislature 
of  New  Jersey,  with  a  persistent  monopoly  of  refusal, 
declined  then,  as  it  has  ever  since,  to  bestow  a  pecu- 
niary grant  upon  the  institution.  Far  more  favored  at 
its  first  commencement  is  Carroll  than  the  College  of 
New  Jersey.  Its  permanent  site  is  on  a  beautiful 
elevation,  an  appropriate  symbol  of  education,  with 
its  campus  thick-set  with  rock  beneath  and  with  ver- 
dure above,  mingling  the  utile  dulci, — a  location,  an- 
cient with  the  memorials  of  Indian  antiquity,  and 
modern  with  the  sight  of  one  of  the  most  thriving 
towns  in  Wisconsin.  The  College  has  probably  the 
largest  and  ablest  Faculty  that  ever  graced  the  first 
commencement  of  a  similar  institution ;  it  possesses 

1  In  1749,  New  York  had  73,448  inhabitants;  New  Jersey, 
about  50,000  ;  and  Pennsylvania  about  180,000. 


OF    COLLEGES.  175 

an  endowment  which,  with  its  building  and  grounds, 
is  estimated  at  fifty  thousand  dollars ;  its  catalogue 
enrols  forty-five  students  in  the  regular  classes ;  and 
there  is  a  prospect  of  educational  sympathy  and  pe- 
cuniary aid  from  the  State.  In  short,  everything 
betokens  a  prosperity  quite  unusual  at  so  early  a 
period  of  collegiate  life. 

The  first  graduating  class  at  Princeton  contained 
six  students,  —  the  same  number  that  would  have 
graduated  at  Carroll,  if  God  had  not  called  away 
Marsh  to  perfect  his  education  in  Heaven's  great 
University.  Who  could  have  foretold,  a  century  ago, 
the  blessings  that  were  to  accrue  to  the  world  from 
the  infant  institution  over  which  Burr  then  presided  ? 
Nor  can  any  prophet,  though  endowed  with  Wiscon- 
sian  enthusiasm,  declare  the  unutterable  advantages 
to  Church  and  to  State,  which  are  to  go  down  from 
generation  to  generation,  from  Carroll  College,  whose 
administration  under  our  own  beloved  Savage,  has 
been  so  auspiciously  initiated.  A  happy  day,  indeed, 
to  you,  Sir,  the  honored  President,  who  may  affirm, 
with  a  deep  experience, 

"Hie  dies,  vere  mihi  festus,  atras 
Eximet  curas." 

Young  gentlemen,  we  stand  to-day  at  one  of  the 
fountain-heads  of  Western  destiny.  A  College  is 
among  the  active  forces  of  life  and  immortality ;  it 
is  a  perpetual  power  to  supply  motive,  and  influence. 


176  THE    ADVANTAGES 

and  action,  from  mind  to  mind,  in  all  the  providential 
developments  of  human  society.     There  is  a  little 
stream  among  the  mysterious  latitudes  and  longitudes 
of  the  great  West,  where  Lewis  and  Clark  stood  with 
the  delight  and  wonder  of  first  explorers.     It  is  the 
supply  source  of  the  "  Father  of  Waters."     As  the 
Mississippi  controls  the  irrigation,  the  agriculture,  the 
eommerce,  the  resources  of  the  great  West,  so  insti- 
tutions of  learning,  the  upper  sources  of  civilization, 
direct  the  political  and  religious  destiny  of  the  world. 
( Jarroll  College  claims  a  share  of  homage,  among  the 
activities  which  are   to  shape  the  destinies  of  the 
West.     On  this,  the  first  "commencement"  occasion 
of  its  collegiate  existence,  I  choose  as  a  suitable  theme 
for  a  public  Address,  the  general  advantages  of  Col- 
leges ;  or,  more  particularly,  I  venture  to  offer  a  Plea 
for  Carroll  College,  as  a  good  gift   to   a   great 
State. 

I.  Among  the  general  advantages  which  commend 
Carroll  College  as  a  good  gift  to  Wisconsin,  is  its 

ADAPTATION     TO    FURNISH     MINISTERS    TO    THE    CHURCH. 

Religion  is  of  supreme  importance  to  men,  as  private 
individuals,  and  as  citizens  of  a  commonwealth.  Our 
intellectual  and  moral  constitution,  in  union  with  a 
resurrection  body,  declares  the  wisdom,  power,  and 
authority  of  God.  Obedience  to  His  government, 
through  the  grace  of  His  Son,  our  Saviour,  can  alone 
elevate  human  nature  to  its  true  position  and  glory. 


OF     COLLEGES.  177 

Forgiveness  of  sin,  sanctification  of  spirit,  providen- 
tial guidance,  usefulness  in  life,  and  eternal  happiness 
beyond  the  grave,  are  the  great  proposals  which  Chris- 
tianity heralds  to  a  fallen  world.  Young  gentlemen, 
religion  is  the  grandest,  sweetest  theme  that  can  ever 
enlist  a  mortal's  immortal  mind. 

As  members  of  a  community,  as  well  as  personally, 
all  men  have  an  interest  in  the  advancement  of  the 
Gospel.  Virtue  and  morality  are  indispensable  to 
the  well-being  of  society.  The  nature  and  the  exe- 
cution of  the  laws,  the  maintenance  of  the  public 
credit,  the  preservation  of  social  order,  the  adminis- 
tration of  justice,  the  peaceable  enjoyment  of  life, 
liberty,  and  property,  whatever  gives  value  to  citizen- 
ship, and  supplies  patriotism  to  the  State,  must  have 
its  best  guarantees  in  the  principles  and  sanctions  of 
God's  holy  word.  The  farmer,  the  merchant,  the 
mechanic,  with  all  classes  and  professions  of  society, 
are  immeasurably  benefited  by  the  prevalence  of  reli- 
gious principle.  Worldly  thrift  has  a  close  relation 
to  morality.  Speculators  understand  the  wisdom  of 
the  policy  of  donating  lots  for  churches  in  new  towns 
and  cities.  Outward  prosperity  is  one  of  the  attend- 
ants on  religion.  "  Length  of  days  is  in  her  right 
hand,  and  in  her  left  hand  riches  and  honour."  Reli- 
gion is  the  only  safeguard  for  the  great  social  and 
political  interests  of  a  commonwealth ;  it  is  the  only 
hope  for  the  salvation  of  the  soul. 

M 


178  THE     ADVANTAGES 

God  has  made  provision  for  personal  and  public 
religious  wants,  by  establishing  a  sacred  profession, 
whose  object  is  to  keep  the  plan  of  redemption  before 
mankind.  The  theme  of  heaven's  everlasting  Song, 
must  be  held  up  to  human  view,  with  the  prominence 
of  its  own  glorious  and  intrinsic  merit,  and  with  the 
grace  of  its  adaptation  to  human  hearts  and  human 
tongues.  The  Christian  ministry  is  the  selected  in- 
strumentality. It  is  a  vocation,  magnified  by  the 
example  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  was  Himself 
a  minister  of  righteousness,  by  the  divine  original 
and  gifts  of  the  sacred  office,  by  the  promise  of  the 
Spirit's  presence  in  the  discharge  of  its  functions,  and 
by  its  indispensable  agency,  as  proved  by  Scripture 
and  Providence,  in  promoting  the  welfare  of  king- 
doms and  the  salvation  of  souls. 

To  assist  in  furnishing  ministers  to  the  Church  is, 
therefore,  a  great  work.  This  is  one  of  the  aims  of  a 
Christian  College.  It  was  distinctly  set  forth  by  our 
fathers  in  the '  establishment  of  their  first  collegiate 
institution  at  Princeton.  Presbyterians  have  always 
acted  on  the  principle  of  securing,  by  God's  grace,  an 
educated  ministry.  Piety  and  learning  are  as  har- 
monious as  the  light  and  the  heat  of  the  clay,  or  the 
grain  and  the  green  of  harvest.  Since  miracles  have 
ceased,  and  inspiration,  the  gift  of  tongues,  and  the 
discerning  of  spirits,  are  no  longer  imparted  to  pro- 
phets and  teachers,  the  Church  supplies  the  absence 


OF     COLLEGES.  179 

of  these  miraculous  endowments,  as  far  as  possible, 
by  the  industrious  use  of  means  in  the  cultivation  of 
the  natural  powers  of  the  mind.  The  Reformation 
in  the  Church  took  place  under  the  directing  energy 
of  men  of  learning.  Wickliff  was  nurtured  into 
greatness  at  the  University  of  Oxford,  and  John  Huss 
prepared  for  immortality  at  the  University  of  Prague. 
Luther,  Calvin,  Knox,  Cranmer,  and  the  host  of  Re- 
formers, were  men  of  mighty  erudition.  They  were 
indebted  under  God  for  their  influence  to  thorough 
and  extensive  mental  acquirements,  as  well  as  to  fer- 
vent piety.  The  service  of  the  sanctuary  requires 
the  most  perfect  qualifications.  As  the  candlestick 
of  the  temple  was  made  of  pure  beaten  gold,  and 
gave  light  to  the  worshipper  from  its  seven  branches 
of  exquisite  workmanship,  so  the  most  costly  and 
varied  cultivation  of  intellect  and  heart  should  be 
brought  into  requisition  to  show  forth  the  light  of  the 
new  dispensation,  and  to  illuminate  the  world  with 
the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.  Ministers  are  expounders 
of  the  wisdom  of  God.  They  are  ambassadors  from 
heaven.  They  are  charged  with  the  highest  depart- 
ment of  instruction.  They  are  defenders  of  the  faith. 
They  are  brought  into  contact  with  human  nature  in 
its  various  forms  of  stupid  superstition,  of  callous 
indifference,  and  of  adroit,  untiring  skepticism.  Of 
all  men,  ministers  have  need,  in  every  age,  of  mental 
training  of  the  highest  kind  attainable.     Institutions 


ISO  THE    ADVANTAGES 

of  learning  have  thus  a  direct  and  influential  relation 
to  the  prosperity  of  the  Church.  Without  Colleges, 
the  land  could  not  be  blessed  with  the  ministrations 
of  learned  and  gifted  men,  able  "  rightly  to  divide 
the  word  of  truth." 

Colleges  have  been  remarkably  successful  in  the 
training  of  a  learned  and  pious  ministry.  At  Princeton 
College,  out  of  its  3584  graduates,  670  have  become 
ministers  of  the  Gospel,  or  nearly  a  fifth  of  the  whole 
number.  At  Jefferson  College",  Pa.,  and  Centre  Col- 
lege, Ky.,  one-third  of  the  graduates  have  entered  the 
ministry.  Out  of  30,000  young  men  who  have  been 
graduated  at  Presbyterian  and  Congregational  Col- 
leges, about  8000  have  become  ministers,  being  nearly 
one-fourth  of  the  whole  number.  You  see,  gentle- 
men, from  these  statements  and  statistics,  one  item  in 
the  value  of  Colleges.  The  Church  has  an  intense 
interest  in  their  prosperity.  Heaven  watches  their 
origin  and  growth.  The  kingdom  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  is  extended  throughout  the  earth  by  ministers 
educated  in  these  institutions  of  learning. 

II.  A  second  advantage  of  a  College,  and  of  Carroll 
College,  is  that  it  furnishes  the  useful  public  men 
to  the  State.  The  commonwealth  is  the  institution 
of  God.  It  is  an  ordinance  of  the  King  of  kings, 
established  for  high  political  and  moral  purposes ;  and 
it  claims,  under  the  limitations  of  rectitude,  supreme 


OF     COLLEGES.  181 

allegiance  and  universal  homage.  "  The  powers  that 
be  are  ordained  of  God."  The  supply  to  the  State 
of  well-trained  and  able  professional  men  is  in  obedi- 
ence to  the  clearest  providential  requirements,  and  it 
aspires  to  the  good  of  the  commonwealth  and  the 
glorv  of  Heaven. 

Education,  in  the  first  place,  strengthens  the  wind. 
It  fits  it  for  use,  and  enables  it  to  employ  its  faculties 
for  the  public  welfare.  Education  is  not  theoretical : 
it  is  verily  utilitarian.  It  has  practical  value.  The 
power  of  mind  is  increased  by  training.  If  the  pros- 
perity of  a  country  be  promoted  by  bringing  into  cul- 
tivation new  acres  of  land,  and  by  the  production  of 
additional  manufactures  by  the  industry  of  the  people, 
so  is  it  advanced  by  the  cultivation  of  more  intellect, 
and  by  the  additional  mental  strength  acquired  in 
institutions  of  learning.  All  college  graduates  do 
not,  indeed,  become  legislators,  or  executive  officers, 
or  lawyers  and  judges ;  but  the  State  has  at  least  a 
wider  range  from  which  to  obtain  its  supplies,  and 
more  strength  of  mind  in  its  employment  when  that 
supply  is  obtained  from  educated  men.  And  even 
though  these  individuals  should  never  be  called  into 
public  life,  the  State  has  still  the  benefit  of  cultivated 
talent  and  influence  in  the  spheres  in  which  they 
move. 

Secondly.  A  collegiate  education  enlightens  the 
mind.  It  imparts  knowledge;  and  "knowledge  is 
16 


182  THE     ADVANTAGES 

power."  A  public  man  ought  not  to  be  ignorant. 
You  will  all  maintain  that  a  person  who  cannot  read 
or  write,  is  unfit  to  hold  office  in  Wisconsin ;  and 
further,  that  the  higher  the  office,  the  better  informed 
ought  the  incumbent  ordinarily  to  be,  in  order  to  fill 
it  well.  Now,  a  college  possesses  materials  in  its 
studies  to  qualify  men  for  the  highest  engagements 
of  professional  life.  History,  political  economy,  the 
classics,  literature,  mathematics,  general  learning, 
give  an  enlargement  of  view  which  belongs  to  the 
true  qualifications  of  a  statesman. 

A  collegiate  education  disciplines  the  character. 
Learning  inculcates  lessons  of  self-reliance,  patience, 
subordination,  a  proper  appreciation  of  ourselves  and 
of  others.  The  associations  of  college  life,  outside 
of  the  class-room,  assist  the  other  appliances  of  edu- 
cation in  opening  the  eyes  of  the  ignorant,  and  in 
unfolding  the  true  relations  of  individuals  to  each 
other  and  to  society  at  large.  The  daily  intercourse 
of  students,  their  alliances  of  friendship,  their  con- 
tact with  each  other  as  debaters  in  the  Literary  Socie- 
ties, all  unite  with  the  natural  tendency  of  literary 
habits  and  acquisitions  to  improve  and  discipline  the 
character. 

Furthermore,  a  collegiate  education  fosters  the  true 
spirit  of  liberty,  which  is  another  element  in  the 
qualifications  of  all  public  men.  A  liberal  education 
brings  the  mind  into  communion  with  the  master 


OF     COLLEGES.  183 

spirits  of  antiquity,  who  generally  plead  for  popular 
rights.     The  study  of  history  excites  sympathy  with 
liberty.     The   acquisition  of  knowledge   in  general 
opens  to  the  soul  the  great  truths  and  laws  of  the 
universe,  which  make  a  man  feel  his  independence 
and  the  dignity  of  his  nature.     A  student's  natural 
position  is  in  the  ranks   of  freedom.     In  the  first 
graduating  class  of  Princeton  was  Richard  Stockton, 
a  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence.     John 
•Witheespoon,  the  President  of  the  College,  was  an- 
other of  the  eminent  signers,  foremost  in  zeal  for  his 
country's  cause.     The  College  of  New  Jersey  has  the 
glory  of  enrolling  on  its  catalogue  one-fifth  of   the 
signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence.     Wil- 
liam Graham,  President  of  the  College  at  Lexington, 
Va.,  collected  a  company  of  soldiers,  and  at  their 
head  boldly  marched  against  the  foe.     Four-fifths  of 
the  graduates  of  Princeton  passed  from  the  walls  of 
the  College  into  the  Revolutionary  army,  and  their 
blood  fertilizes  every  battle-field   from  Quebec  and 
Ticonderoga  to  King's  Mountain  and  Fort  Moultrie. 
The  very  names  adopted  by  our  colleges,  in  the  last 
century,  show  their  appreciation  of  liberty.     The  old 
college  building  at  Princeton  was  named  Nassau  Hall. 
in  honour  of  William  of  Nassau,  the  Defender  of 
freedom.     The  College  in  the  valley  of  Virginia  took 
the  name  of  Liberty  Hall ;  whilst  the  other  college, 
east  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  called  itself  "Hampden  Sid- 


184  THE     ADVANTAGES 

ney"  after  two  great  champions  of  human  rights. 
Nor  has  the  old  spirit  yet  become  impaired ;  for  out 
here  in  the  far  West,  in  the  middle  of  another  cen- 
tury, Presbyterians  have  called  their  college  "  Carroll" 
after  one  of  the  illustrious  signers  of  the  immortal 
document  of  our  Liberties. 

The  history  of  other  colleges,  in  existence  at  the 
time  of  the  Revolution,  confirms  the  view  taken  in 
this  Address.  Harvard  and  Yale  have  been  imme- 
morially  for  freedom.  Out  of  the  twenty-one  repre-, 
sentatives  sent  by  Massachusetts  to  the  old  Conti- 
nental Congress,  from  1774  to  1789,  seventeen  were 
graduates  of  Harvard.  Time  would  fail  me  to  enter 
more  largely  into  statistics.  These  facts  show,  not 
only  that  colleges  foster  the  spirit  of  liberty,  but  that 
they  furnish  a  large  number  of  useful  public  men  to 
the  State. 

As  a  specimen  of  the  State-aiding  power  of  Col- 
leges, let  me  just  add  that  Princeton  College  alone 
has  furnished  a' President  of  the  United  States,  two 
Vice-Presidents,  four  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court, 
six  members  of  the  Cabinet,  nearly  one  hundred  and 
fifty  members  of  Congress,  and  about  twenty-five 
Governors  of  different  States,  besides  a  large  majority 
of  the  Judges  of  her  own  Supreme  Court,  and  other 
public  men.  Carroll  College  has  yet  to  make  out  her 
catalogue  of  eminent  public  service ;  but  it  cannot  be 
doubted  that  this  institution  will  produce  a  true  and 


OF     COLLEGES.  185 

honorable  proportion  of  worthies  in  the  executive, 
legislative,  and  judicial  departments,  and  in  all  the 
learned  professions  of  public  life. 

III.  Another  advantage  of  a  College  is,  that,  being 

the  NATURAL  COMPLETION  OF  A  SYSTEM  OF  EDUCATION,  it 

exerts  a  healthful  influence  on  the  common  schools 

AND  ACADEMIES  OF  THE  COUNTRY,  AND  ON  THE  GENERA!. 
ELEVATION  OF  THE  PEOPLE,  ESPECIALLY  OF  THE  POOR. 

It  is  the  honour  of  Colleges  that  they  identify  them- 
selves with  the  success  of  all  other  institutions.  Their 
influence  pervades  society.  They  are  the  sources  of 
an  enlightened  public  opinion,  from  which  streams  of 
practical  benefit  flow  down  to  the  people  at  large. 
Colleges  form  a  natural  part  of  a  system  of  education. 
They  are  the  sun,  around  which  revolve  the  large 
and  the  lesser  stars.  To  deny  a  college  its  true  rela- 
tions to  the  general  system,  is  to  disparage  the  power 
of  first  causes,  as  well  as  to  disbelieve  the  demonstra- 
tions of  experience.  Intellectual  culture  descends 
from  the  higher  to  the  lower  conditions  of  society. 
It  works  its  way  down,  through  many  obstacles,  to 
the  masses  of  the  people.  The  leaders  in  the  gene- 
ral efforts  for  popular  education  have  been  those  who 
had  the  power  of  appreciating  its  necessity  and  bene- 
fits. A  large  number  of  the  Pilgrims  were  educated 
in  the  Universities.  Had  Providence  permitted  the 
first  settlers  in  the  Mayflower  to  be  ignorant  and  il- 
16* 


186  THE     ADVANTAGES 

literate  men,  common  schools  would  not  have  consti- 
tuted from  so  early  a  period  the  glory  of  New  Eng- 
land. The  first  movement,  in  this  country,  for  the 
universal  education  of  the  people,  was  the  foundation 
of  a  College.  Harvard  College  preceded  the  common 
school  system,  as  its  natural  and  nurturing  cause. 
The  same  is  substantially  true,  it  is  believed,  of  the 
history  of  com:;; on  schools  in  every  State  where  they 
exist  by  public  law.  Yale,  Dartmouth,  Bowdoin,  and 
Brown  Universities  and  Colleges  preceded  common 
schools,  or  grew  up  contemporaneously  with  them  as 
sources  of  their  prosperity.  Columbia  and  Union 
Colleges,  in  New  York,  Princeton  and  Rutgers  Col- 
leges in  New  Jersey,  the  University  at  Philadelphia, 
and  Dickinson,  Jefferson,  and  Washington  Colleges  in 
Pennsylvania,  all  antedated  legal  provisions  for  the 
general  education  of  the  people.  Marietta  College 
and  the  State  Universities  in  Ohio,  Hanover,  Wabash, 
and  all  the  colleges  in  Indiana,  but  one,  are  older 
than  the  beginning  of  taxation  to  support  common 
schools.  The  Universities  of  Michigan  and  Wiscon- 
sin, and  Carroll  and  Beloit  Colleges,  were  founded  in 
advance  of  the  establishment  of  the  lower  institu- 
tions, or  in  such  connection  with  them  as  to  showr 
that  they  were  natural  and  necessary  parts  of  a  com- 
plete system.  Experience  had  already  demonstrated, 
in  other  States,  the  great  and  indispensable  advan- 
tages of  Colleges.     Enlightening  and  quickening  in- 


OF     COLLEGES.  187 

liuences  go  forth  from  them  to  create  a  sound  and 
active  public  opinion,  and  to  prepare  the  way  for  the 
establishment  and  support  of  academies  and  common 
schools. 

Allow  me  to  be  a  little  more  specific.  Colleges 
further  benefit  the  public  educational  system  in  two 
ways,  which  few  persons  will  call  in  question. 

1st.  By  increasing  the  number  and  elevating  the 
qualifications  of  teachers.  The  life  of  a  school  system 
depends  upon  the  persons  who  administer  it.  The 
chief  question  which  immediately  relates  to  the  pros- 
perity of  common  schools,  is,  —  How  can  teachers  be 
obtained  in  sufficient  numbers,  and  of  the  right  quali- 
fications ?  The  common  schools,  of  themselves,  can- 
not send  forth  large  numbers  of  good  teachers,  because 
the}7  do  not  ordinarily  carry  the  education  of  scholars 
far  enough  to  qualify  them  for  the  great  art  of  teach- 
ing. No  employment  in  society  requires  more  intel- 
lectual vigor  and  general  thrift  of  learning  than  the 
office  of  a  teacher.  Ignorant  men,  although  they 
may  have  good  common  sense,  cannot  ordinarily  pro- 
duce any  other  than  ignorant  scholars.  A  stream 
will  not  rise  above  its  source.  Hence,  we  find,  that 
the  best  common  school  teachers  are  those  who  have 
resorted  to  higher  institutions  for  the  purpose  of  pre- 
paring themselves  for  their  work.  The  State  has 
discovered  the  necessity  of  establishing  Normal 
Schools,  as  the  means  of  creating  good  teachers  for 


188  THE     ADVANTAGES 

the  common  schools.  If  it  be  asked,  whether  Normal 
Schools  and  Academies  will  not  do  the  work  without 
Colleges,  the  reply  is,  that  Colleges  sustain  the  same 
relation  to  Academies  and  Normal  Schools  that  the 
latter  do  to  the  public  schools.  Where  can  the 
supply  of  well-qualified  teachers  for  these  interme- 
diate institutions  be  obtained,  except  from  the  higher 
institutions,  such  as  the  Wisconsin  University,  and 
Carroll  and  Beloit  Colleges  ?  All  the  educational  in- 
stitutions of  the  State,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest, 
exert  a  reciprocal  influence  upon  each  other,  and  each 
imparts  life  and  vigour  to  the  whole.  The  people  are 
beginning  to  understand  this  matter,  and  the  preju- 
dice against  Colleges  is  yielding  to  the  conviction  that 
they  sustain  an  important  relation  to  academies  and 
common  schools.  The  supply  of  teachers,  both  as  to 
number  and  qualifications,  is  connected  with  the  op- 
portunities and  the  incentives  presented  by  Univer- 
sities and  Colleges. 

2dly.  Besides  this  direct  advantage  conferred  by 
Colleges  on  the  State  system  of  schools,  there  is  yet 
another :  Colleges  offer  to  the  pupils  of  common 
schools  the  facilities  of  obtaining  a  higher  education. 
What  a  great  calamity  it  would  be  to  the  State,  if  the 
tens  of  thousands  of  its  children  in  common  schools 
were  forever  shut  out  from  the  opportunity  of  increas- 
ing their  stock  of  educational  knowledge  !  Some  of 
them,  at  least,  will  naturally  aspire  to  farther  acqui- 


OF     COLLEGES.  189 

sitions.  There  is  a  tendency  in  learning  to  stimulate 
the  desire  for  more.  Many  a  boy  will  be  excited  to 
aim  at  higher  attainments  than  the  common  school 
undertakes  to  impart ;  and  under  right  influences  will 
be  led  to  go  to  an  academy  and  then  to  a  College. 
In  proportion  as  the  common  school  system  becomes 
improved  in  the  qualifications  of  its  teachers,  the 
number  of  youth,  who  desire  to  pursue  a  more  ad- 
vanced education,  will  be  increased.  Colleges  depend 
upon  the  common  schools  and  academies  for  a  supply 
of  pupils,  just  as  the  latter  depend  upon  Colleges  for 
a  supply  of  teachers. 

These  general  views  are  sufficient  to  indicate  the 
advantages  of  a  College  in  its  connection  with  all 
other  institutions  of  education.  Carroll  College 
claims  the  capacity  to  increase  the  prosperity  of  the 
academies  and  common  schools  of  Wisconsin. 

There  is  yet  another  idea  that  deserves  attention. 
Colleges,  as  parts  of  an  educational  system,  convey  re- 
latively their  greatest  benefits  to  the  poor.  A  College 
opens  its  gates  to  all,  and  invites  equally  the  rich,  the 
middle  classes,  and  the  poor.  Equal  opportunity  is 
Guaranteed  to  all.  This  is  a  relative  advantage  to  the 
poor,  because  the  poor  do  not  naturally  possess  equal 
power  with  the  rich,  either  in  founding  or  sustaining  in- 
stitutions of  learning.  The  plan  of  endowment  adopted 
by  Carroll  College,  is  designed  to  cheapen  education 
to  the  lowest  point  consistent  with  rigorous  necessity. 


190  THE     ADVANTAGES 

The  larger  the  endowment  fund,  the  less  will  be  the 
price  of  tuition,  and  there  are  already  scholarships 
to  support  the  more  need}'  students.  Here,  again,  in 
the  pecuniary  aspects  of  the  case,  the  relative  advan- 
tage is  with  the  poor.  But  the  greatest  of  all  the  ad- 
vantages to  the  poor  is  in  the  actual  results.  Educa- 
tion knows  no  distinctions  in  theory,  and,  practically. 
it  eradicates  them  all.  It  takes  a  young  man  out  of 
a  condition  of  poverty,  and  gives  him  the  intellectual 
resources,  the  cultivated  tastes,  and  even  the  man- 
ners of  a  higher  life.  It  exerts  an  enlightening  and 
humanizing  influence,  which  removes  all  artificial 
barriers.  Nothing,  like  education,  so  confounds  the 
distinctions  of  rank.  Like  the  railroad,  it  cuts  through 
hills,  and  builds  its  embankments  over  valleys.  High 
and  low  places  must  alike  conform  to  the  law  of  its 
great  energetic  level.  A  College  brings  to  the  poor 
and  middle  classes  the  opportunity  of  furnishing  their 
sons  with  all  the  appliances  that  assist  in  obtaining 
the  highest  posts  of  influence  and  usefulness  in  so- 
ciety. If  any  class  ought  to  possess  and  exhibit  a 
kindly  feeling  towards  colleges,  it  is  the  poor.  Carroll 
College  is  the  friend  of  all,  but  especially  of  those 
who  constitute  the  masses.  It  thus  sympathizes  in 
spirit  with  the  common-school  system,  and  whilst  it 
offers  equal  opportunities  to  every  child  in  the  State, 
the  poor  receive  the  greatest  relative  gain. 


OFCOLLEGES.  191 

IV.  A  fourth  consideration  to  prove  that  a  College 
is  a  good  gift  to  the  State,  is  that  it  aifords  an  im- 
portant means  of  imbuing  the  youthful  mind  with  cor- 
rect principles  of  morality  and  religion. 

A  godless  education  is  a  very  dangerous  experi- 
ment. The  omission  of  divine  truth  in  a  course  of 
training,  virtually  assumes  that  the  immortal  part  of 
our  nature  is  of  comparatively  little  value.  How 
much  better  is  it  to  take  the  scriptural  view,  and  to 
train  up  young  men  "in  the  way  they  should  go," 
thus  preparing  them  for  this  life  and  for  the  life  to 
come  !  The  incidental  compensations,  which  are  to 
be  found  in  private  and  public  religious  instruction. 
in  the  household  and.  in  the  sanctuary,  do  not  justify 
the  exclusion  of  Christianity  from  the  literary  course. 
The  founders  of  Carroll  College  adopted,  as  a  funda- 
mental principle,  the  inculcation  of  religion  with  all 
other  acquisitions  of  knowledge.  The  book  held  in 
the  greatest  reverence  here,  is  the  Bible.  The  motto 
on  the  seal  of  the  Corporation  is  "  6  Bt3?.iog  :"  and 
the  Bible  was  the  first  book  to  form  the  nucleus  of 
the  library.  Ought  not  Christians  to  honour  the 
word  of  God  in  the  institutions  that  train  their  youth  ? 
Even  the  Pagans  acknowledged  their  gods  in  their 
systems  of  education,  as  do  the  Chinese,  the  Hindoos, 
the  Mohammedans  of  the  present  day.  If  religion 
be  a  good  thing,  it  is  a  good  thing  to  teach  it.  Insti- 
tutions of  learning  afford  remarkable  facility  for  reli- 


11)2  THE     ADVANTAGES 

gious  instruction.  A  place  can  be  found  for  divine 
truth,  if  there  be  a  will  to  give  it  place.  Our  Pres- 
byterian colleges  all  assign  to  religion  more  or  less 
prominence.  Other  denominations  have  also  their 
religious  colleges.  Some  of  the  considerations,  which 
urge  religious  instruction  as  a  part  of  the  literary 
course,  are  these  : 

1.  It  is  right  to  honour  God  in  all  things,  and 
everywhere. 

2.  The  human  soul  has  moral  as  well  as  intel- 
lectual faculties ;  and  true  education  implies  the 
development  of  our  whole  nature. 

3.  Religious  truth  is  the  most  important  of  all 
truth. 

4.  Youth  is  the  most  suitable  time  to  attend  to  the 
doctrines  and  duties  of  religion. 

5.  God  has  blessed  in  a  remarkable  manner  efforts 
to  convert  young  men  in  colleges.  Exactly  one  cen- 
tury ago,  in  1757,  the  first  revival  of  religion  took 
place  in  Princeton  College.  The  great  Samuel  Da- 
vies,  in  writing  about  it,  said  :  "  This  is  perhaps  the 
best  news  I  ever  heard  in  my  life."  President  Finley, 
in  giving  an  account,  said :  "  God  has  done  great 
things  for  us.  Our  glorious  Redeemer  poured  out  His 
Holy  Spirit  oh  the  students  of  our  College ;  not  one 
of  all  who  were  present  was  neglected ;  and  they 
were  in  number  sixty."  Other  revivals  occurred 
under  Dr.  Witherspoon  ;  a  very  remarkable  one  under 


OF    COLLEGES.  193 

Dr.  Green ;  another  under  Dr.  Carnahan ;  and  another 
in  the  first  year  of  Dr.  Maclean's  administration — in 
each  of  the  last  three,  about  fifty  students  were  hope- 
fully brought  to  the  knowledge  of  the  Saviour.  Jeffer- 
&m  has  been  frequently  blessed  with  extensive  revivals 
of  religion.  Oglethorpe  University  had  five  revivals 
in  seven  years.  Centre  College,  Ky.,  has  enjoyed  fre- 
quent outpourings  of  the  Divine  Spirit ;  and  during 
the  last  session  about  thirty-five  of  the  students  have 
professed  a  hope  in  Christ.  This  revival  was,  as  it 
were,  a  chariot  of  fire,  to  prepare  the  President,  the 
good  and  great  Dr.  Young,  for  his  ascension  to  glory. 
Congregational,  and  other  Presbyterian,  Colleges  have 
been  in  like  manner  favoured  with  the  displays  of 
'  God's  abounding  mercy.  In  one  year,  130  students 
in  Yale  College  came  out  for  the  first  time  on  the 
Lord's  side.  In  Middlebury  College,  it  is  stated  that 
every  class  for  the  last  forty  years  has  seen  a  revival 
in  some  part  of  its  college  course,  and  that  at  Amherst 
no  class  has  ever  graduated  without  beholding  God's 
gracious  power  in  a  revival.  These  facts  demonstrate 
the  tendency  and  reward  of  religious  efforts  in  col- 
leges ;  and  there  cannot  be  a  doubt  that,  if  more 
attention  had  been  paid  to  the  direct  inculcation  of 
religious  truth,  still  greater  results  would  have  been 
manifested  in  the  number  of  College-born  heirs  to 
the  kingdom  of  heaven.  Here,  gentlemen,  is  seen 
the  true  glory  of  a  Christian  College. 
17  N 


194  THE    ADVANTAGES 

These  institutions,  as  we  have  attempted  to  show, 
prepare  ministers  for  the  service  of  the  Church  ;  they 
send  out  useful  and  enlightened  public  men  for  the 
employment  of  the  State,  and  for  the  liberal  profes- 
sions ;  they  assist  in  giving  efficiency  and  prosperity 
to  the  public  educational  system  ;  and  they  imbue  the 
minds  of  a  large  number  of  well-trained  and  influen- 
tial youth  with  the  spirit  and  principles  of  true  piety. 

I  have  thus,  young  gentlemen,  endeavored  to  plead 
the  cause  of  Colleges,  and  of  Carroll  College  in  par- 
ticular. If  my  observations  have  been  correct,  Car- 
roll College  is  a  good  gift  to  the  State ;  and  it  is  a 
gift  the  more  considerate,  useful,  and  valuable,  be- 
cause Wisconsin  is  a  gkeat  State. 

Before  alluding  to  the  present  and  prospective 
greatness  of  Wisconsin,  permit  me  to  refer  to  two 
historical  associations,  which  possess  no  little  interest. 

From  Wisconsin,  the  expedition  set  out,  which  dis- 
covered the  Upper  Mississijipi  and  the  Missouri  River*. 
One  hundred  and  thirty-two  years  before  the  Wiscon- 
sin expedition,  1541,  De  Soto  had  stood  upon  the 
banks  of  the  Mississippi.  Reaching  it  at  the  4th 
Chickasaw  Bluff,  below  Memphis,  he  ascended  the 
river  to  New  Madrid ;  and  then  striking  off  into  the 
western  woods  in  the  mad  adventure  for  gold,  he 
wandered  about  until  he  reached  the  Washita,  which 
brought  him  again  to  the  Mississippi.     His  enfeebled 


OF    COLLEGES.  195 

frame,  however,  yielded  to  disease;  and  the  illus- 
trious Spanish  chieftain  was  buried  at  midnight,  near 
Natchez,  in  the  great  river,  whose  waters,  like  human 
generations,  sweep  onward  without  a  returning  tide. 
The  Spanish  expedition  had  started  from  Cuba, 
through  Florida.  The  next  was  to  enter  upon  its 
discoveries  from  Canada,  through  Wisconsin.  At  so 
early  a  date  did  the  two  extremes  of  our  future  Re- 
public meet,  in  the  spirit  of  western  research  and 
adventure,  Florida  and  Wisconsin  giving  the  Missis- 
sippi to  the  United  States  and  world. 

In  1673,  May  17th,  Marquette,  the  Roman  Catho- 
lic missionary  to  the  Hurons,  and  Joliet,  the  envoy 
of  the  Canadian  Governor,  set  out  from  Michilimac- 
kinac,  with  five  Frenchmen,  in  two  canoes.  Behold 
them  braving  the  rough  waters  of  the  lake  with 
steady  hands  at  their  wave-beaten  oars,  encountering 
at  the  outset  the  trials  that  make  heroes.  "  Our  joy," 
says  Marquette  in  his  narrative,  "  at  being  chosen  for 
this  expedition,  roused  our  courage,  and  sweetened 
the  labour  of  rowing  from  morning  till  night."  They 
at  length  glide  into  the  propitious  harbor  of  Green 
Bay,  and  enter  the  Fox  River,  which  they  ascend 
through  Lake  Winnebago  to  the  portage,  often  drag- 
ging their  canoes  over  the  rapids  and  shallows.  The 
portage  of  about  a  mile  is  crossed,  and  then  and  there 
on  Wisconsin  soil,  France  for  the  first  time  waves  the 
banner  of  Louis  XIV  in  the  Valley  of  the  Missis- 


196  THE    ADVANTAGES 

sippi.  Alas !  the  Envoy  of  the  State  and  the  Mis- 
sionary of  the  Church,  as  they  float  down  the  beau- 
tiful Wisconsin,  little  realize  what  rivers  of  blood  are 
to  flow,  before  this  fair  region  is  to  be  wrested,  first 
by  England  from  France,  and  then  by  the  American 
Colonies  from  England. 

On  the  17th  of  June,  the  explorers  reached  the 
mouth  of  the  Wisconsin,  where  they  are  greeted  with 
the  sight  of  a  large  and  unknown  river.  It  is  the 
great  northwestern  flood  rolling  along  in  lucid  and 
peerless  majesty.  Like  a  friendly  Indian  chief,  ap- 
parelled in  the  dignity  of  the  primeval  forests  and 
with  fearless  bow  and  arrow  in  hand,  it  is  hailed  as  a 
guide  to  the  far-off  regions  known  only  to  the  sons 
of  the  soil.  The  French  canoes  sail  with  delight 
upon  the  Mississippi.  In  a  few  days,  they  meet  the 
wild  waters  of  the  rushing,  conquering  Missouri. 
Onward  they  go,  past  the  beautiful  Ohio,  nor  stop 
their  explorations  until  they  reach  the  Arkansas. 
The  explorers,  satisfied  that  the  Mississippi  enters 
into  the  Atlantic,  now  return  homeward.  They  are 
the  first  civilized  men  that  ascend  the  Illinois ;  and 
crossing  over  to  the  site  of  Chicago,  they  take  a  canoe 
on  Lake  Michigan,  and  return  thanks  to  God  at  Mi- 
chilimackinac.  Thus  Wisconsin  has  an  ancient  his- 
torical glory,  connected  with  the  discovery  of  the 
great  rivers  of  the  great  valley. 

Another  interesting  historical  fact  sheds  a  glory 


OF    COLLEGES.  197 

over  Wisconsin.  Its  territory  is  included  within  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  Ordinance  of  1787.  Wisconsin  is 
the  last  State  contemplated  by  that  great  national 
compact,  and  she  came  into  the  Union  whilst  the 
ordinance  was  yet  universally  acquiesced  in  as  worthy 
of  a  free  and  great  people,  and  consonant  with  the 
spirit  of  '76.  That  ordinance  of  liberty  was  drawn 
up  by  a  graduate  of  Harvard  College,  Nathan  Dane  ; 
it  was  originally  proposed  by  Jefferson,  the  champion 
of  democracy,  on  a  still  larger  scale ;  and  it  finally 
received  a  unanimous  vote  of  the  Northern  and 
Southern  States  in  the  old  Confederation.  Without 
meddling  with  party  politics,  I  may  affirm  that  it  is 
an  honour  to  any  State  to  spring  into  existence  with 
the  segis  of  liberty  in  her  right  hand ;  to  draw  her 
first  constitutional  life  under  an  ordinance  excluding 
forever  human  servitude,  and  to  commence  a  career 
of  greatness  with  the  inspirations  and  the  institutions 
of  "  Independence  now  and  forever ! " 

Wisconsin  has  elements  of  greatness.  With  an 
independent  life  of  only  nine  years,  it  already  ranks 
among  the  first-class  States  of  the  Republic.  Wis- 
consin has  been  gradually  educated  to  its  present 
position.  It  received  a  common-school  education,  when 
the  Northwest  was  an  undivided  possession  of  the 
United  States,  and  when  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois, 
Michigan,  and  Wisconsin  were  school-fellows,  with  a 
big  play-ground  used  in  common.  Wisconsin  received 
17* 


198  THE    ADVANTAGES 

an  academical  education  in  the  territorial  academy 
with  Michigan ;  and  when  the  latter  took  its  degree 
as  a  State,  Wisconsin  pursued  a  collegiate  education 
in  its  own  territory,  and  in  1848  took  the  diploma  of 
a  State  graduate ;  when,  freed  from  authority,  it 
entered  upon  active  life  in  the  great  Western  world. 

Wisconsin  has  great  advantages  of  soil.  A  consi- 
derable part  of  the  State  is  prairie  land,  black  as 
servitude,  but  free  with  a  native  liberty  of  marvel- 
lous productiveness ;  and  the  prairies  are  of  the  best 
kind,  "rolling"  through  the  vista  in  "oak-opening" 
grandeur.  The  Southern  division  of  the  State  is  sup- 
posed to  be  able  to  support  as  large,  if  not  larger, 
population  than  any  other  equal  area  in  the  United 
States.  All  the  forms  of  agriculture  flourish  in  this 
exulting  soil ;  and  as  a  grain-growing  State,  Wiscon- 
sin will  make  itself  known  in  the  markets  of  the 
world.  Agriculture  is  the  main  basis  of  general 
prosperity.  It  is  the  ruling  power  of  human  industry. 
The  farmers  govern  the  subsistence  of  the  nations ; 
and  where  agricultural  resources  abound,  as  in  Wis- 
consin, materials  exist  for  a  great  and  flourishing 
commonwealth . 

In  addition  to  the  resources  of  agriculture,  brought 
from  the  earth  by  human  industry,  Wisconsin  pos- 
sesses immense  natural  resources  in  her  abounding 
forests.  No  prairie  State  has  such  overshadowing 
advantages  of  splendid  imperial  timber.     The  ever- 


OF    COLLEGES.  199 

greens  of  Wisconsin  are  among  the  glories  of  nature ; 
they  cover  a  large  part  of  the  State,  estimated  at 
about  a  fourth  part ;  and  their  superiority  of  quality 
is  as  decisive  as  their  extent  of  quantity.  The  Wis- 
consin pine  commands  the  market  of  the  West  and 
Southwest,  and  finds  its  way  up  all  the  tributary 
streams  of  the  Mississippi,  and  down  to  New  Orleans, 
and  away  to  foreign  ports.  The  Maine,  New  York, 
and  Allegheny  pine,  shrinks  from  comparison  with 
the  forest  fulness  of  Wisconsin.  Chicago  has  already 
become  the  greatest  lumber  market  of  the  world  ;  but 
whence  are  derived  its  principal  supplies?  From 
well-timbered  Wisconsin  and  Michigan. 

Wisconsin  is  equally  distinguished  for  its  mineral 
resources.  Its  lead  is  sold  throughout  the  whole 
country,  and  in  foreign  markets.  Two-thirds  of  the 
Galena  lead  is  Wisconsin.  Grant,  Iowa,  and  Lafayette 
counties  are  the  chief  Cyclopeans  around  the  smelting 
fires  of  the  Northwest.  A  large  quantity  of  the  ore 
never  comes  to  Galena,  but  is  shipped  at  other  places 
along  the  Mississippi  and  the  Wisconsin  Rivers.  Iron 
exists  to  a  considerable  extent  in  the  northwestern 
portion  of  the  State ;  and  the  copper  region  is  like- 
wise included,  in  part,  within  its  boundaries.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  Wisconsin  possesses  vast  mineral 
resources,  rivalling  those  of  other  States.  Weighed 
in  the  huge  scales  of  commercial  value,  her  mineral 


200  THE    ADVANTAGES 

products  move  the  lever  with  a  power  only  inferior 
to  Pennsylvanian  ponderosity. 

The  trade  and  commerce  of  Wisconsin  are  rapidly 
developing.  With  the  Mississippi  on  the  west,  Lake 
Michigan  on  the  east,  and  Lake  Superior  on  the 
north ;  with  the  fine  harbors  of  Milwaukee,  Racine, 
Sheboygan,  Green  Bay,  and  Superior ;  with  railroads 
described  on  the  State  in  all  geometrical  figures  to 
make  sure  the  demonstration  of  the  problem  of  its 
greatness ;  and  with  a  location  commanding  the  trade 
of  a  large  section  of  country,  Wisconsin  is  becoming 
a  commercial,  as  well  as  an  agricultural,  a  lumber, 
and  a  mineral  State.  Manufactures  are  also  hum- 
ming in  the  air;  and,  like  the  rumbling  of  the  wheels 
of  an  approaching  locomotive,  foretell  that  in  this 
department,  too,  Wisconsin  will  be  up  to  time. 

Its  population,  made  up  of  the  sittings  of  many 
kingdoms,  contains  some  of  the  finest  of  the  wheat. 
The  hardy,  enterprising  sons  of  New  England  are 
here,  having  acutely  guessed  their  way  to  as  beauti- 
ful a  heritage  as  ever  fell  to  the  lot  of  the  most  de- 
serving. New  York  is  represented  with  a  numerous 
and  worthy  progeny,  mostly  grandchildren  of  New 
England,  with  a  slight  engrafting  of  Stuyvesant 
stock.  New  Jersey  and  Pennsylvania  have  sent  their 
proportion  of  honest  yeomanry  from  hills  and  valleys, 
pine-barrens,  wheatlands,  and  coal  fields,  to  help  to 
subjugate  a  better  region.     The  Southern  and  South- 


OF    COLLEGES.  201 

western  States  have  a  worthy  representation  among 
this  congress  of  races,  where  two-fifths  count  two- 
fifths.  The  West  is  here  with  its  giant  force  of  agri- 
culturalists and  omniculturalists ;  and  almost  every 
kingdom  of  Europe,  including  the  domain  of  St.  Pat- 
rick, St.  George,  and  St.  Andrew,  St.  Denys,  St.  Law- 
rence, and  other  calendric  heroes,  sighing  for  Lake 
Michigan  and  government  prairies,  has  come  straight 
for  Wisconsin ;  and,  fortunately,  the  best  foreign 
population  that  has  reached  America  in  this  century 
is  here,  in  the  Badger  State.  The  intermingling  of 
these  different  classes  and  races,  will  be  of  the  high- 
est advantage  to  its  prosperity. 

In  education,  Wisconsin  has  wisely  resolved  not  to 
be  behind  any  State  of  the  Republic.  Her  large  fund 
for  education,  is  to  be  sacredly  applied  to  the  enlight- 
ening of  the  people.  A  liberal  common-school  sys- 
tem has  been  established,  which  is  richer  than  the ' 
soil  of  prairies,  the  ore  of  mines,  or  the  trees  of  for- 
ests, and  a  State  University  stands  in  full  view  of  the 
Capitol,  the  creation  of  its  sovereign  power,  and  the 
reflection  of  its  supreme  legislative  wisdom.  The 
Legislature,  at  its  recent  session,  made  an  additional 
advance  in  promoting  educational  interests,  by  the 
adoption  of  measures  which  allow  pecuniary  grants 
to  normal  schools,  and  even  to  colleges.  This  is 
among  the  most  important  and  liberal  schemes  de- 
vised by  a  State  for  the  advancement  of  the  public 


202  THE     ADVANTAGES 

welfare ;  and  if  the  scheme  can  be  executed  in  the 
spirit  of  its  good  intentions,  without  creating  unplea- 
sant disputations,  or  stimulating  presumptuous  and 
doubtful  claims  upon  the  public  munificence,  the 
Ordinance  of  1857  will  shine  with  no  unequal  glory 
alongside  of  that  of  1787, — both  having  in  view  the 
highest  good  of  a  free  people. 

Wisconsin  has  every  sign  of  a  great  State.  Its  popu- 
lation is  increasing  with  almost  unparalleled  rapidity, 
and  its  resources  of  every  kind  are  multiplying  so 
last,  that  the  slates  in  the  common  schools  are  too 
small  to  calculate  the  future.  Although  the  last 
State  formed  on  the  soil  purchased  by  the  blood  of 
the  Revolution,  she  walks  in  the  procession  of  States 
with  equal  honour  in  her  eye,  and  hope  garlanding 
her  brow,  bearing  aloft  the  thirtieth  star  of  the  Ame- 
rican Banner,  as  though,  were  all  others  gone,  she 
'could  well  maintain  her  own.  To  found  a  new  Col- 
lege in  Wisconsin  is  a  noble  enterprise.  It  is  a  good 
gift  to  a  great  State,  better  than  the  regalia  of 
power,  the  trophies  of  war,  or  the  monuments  of 
ambition.  May  the  gift  be  welcomed  and  cherished 
by  the  people,  and  Carroll  College  receive  a  just  share 
of  public  sympathy  and  support  among  the  rising 
institutions  of  rising,  great  Wisconsin! 

Young  gentlemen,  you  are  about  to  go  out  into  the 
active  duties  of  life.     Carrying  with  you  the  convic- 


OF     COLLEGES.  203 

tion  that  religion  is  the  friend  of  man,  administering 
hope  to  conscience,  peace  to  mental  conflicts,  solace 
in  affliction,  counsel  in  trouble,  and  rest  and  glory 
beyond  the  grave.  One  of  your  number  has  already 
been  called  from  the  scenes  of  time.  Marsh  has  led 
the  way  of  the  class  of  1857,  to  a  better  world.  We 
remember  him  on  our  literary  anniversary.  His 
vacant  seat  pleads  with  mute  eloquence  the  instability 
of  human  hopes.  Like  the  pine,  by  the  blows  of  the 
destroying  axe,  or  the  cypress,  before  the  power  of 
the  storm,  he  has  fallen.  But  to  human  mortality 
there  is  a  resurrection  of  life ;  and  Marsh  shall  stand 
among  the  saints  who  pass  from  Wisconsin  graves 
into  the  radiant  presence  of  their  Lord. 

Young  gentlemen,  if  you  do  not  already  possess  re- 
ligion, delay  no  longer  to  secure  it.  It  is  a  sad  reflec- 
tion to  graduate  "  without  hope  and  without  God  in 
the  world."  Delay  is  perilous.  The  shadows  lengthen 
fastest  as  the  sun  draws  nearest  to  the  horizon.  Let 
me  say,  as  a  friend,  that  the  year  immediately  suc- 
ceeding college  life,  is  often  one  of  more  than  ordi- 
nary thoughtfulness  and  solemnity.  Observation  has 
brought  to  view  the  fact,  that  a  considerable  number 
who  went  through  college  life  without  religion,  have 
embraced  it  in  that  serious  interval  which  imme- 
diately succeeds  their  graduation.  Few,  very  few, 
after  this  period,  apparently  give  themselves  much 
concern  about  the  salvation  of  the  soul. 


204  ADVANTAGES    OF    COLLEGES. 

Arise  to  serve  your  country  and  your  God.  The 
age  calls  for  zealous  patriotism,  purity  of  motive, 
steadfastness  of  principle.  A  grand  field  of  useful- 
ness is  presented  in  this  grand  State.  Wisconsin 
must  have  seemed  to  the  Indians  a  land  favored  by 
the  Great  Spirit,  Methinks  the  council  fires  of  con- 
federated tribes  have  been  on  the  prairies  and  by  the 
lakes  where  the  State  Capitol  now  stands,  one  of  the 
glorious  sites  worthy  to  be  the  seat  of  Liberty  and 
constitutional  power.  Where  the  Dacotahs  and  Win- 
nebagoes  once  held  their  hunting  and  fishing  grounds, 
the  sons  of  Wisconsin  now  dwell  in  the  genial  quiet 
of  advancing  civilization.  Oh,  young  gentlemen,  you 
have  a  mighty  State  to  live  and  work  in  ! 

Lake  Michigan  is  named,  on  the  oldest  French 
maps,  "  Le  Lac  des  Illinois,"  the  lake  of  the  Illinois, 
or  of  men.  Wisconsin,  from  her  eastern  to  her  west- 
ern shores,  expects  her  sons  to  keep  alive  this  imme- 
morial appellation.  Higher  than  ancient  Indian  or 
French  suggestion  is  the  authority,  "Quit  ye  like 
men."  Even  the  savages  of  the  olden  time  rightly 
judged  this  fine  region  of  country  to  be  worthy  of 
men  of  a  noble  order.  Let  Wisconsians  ever  rank 
high  in  the  race  of  men ;  and  let  Carroll  men  stand 
among  the  foremost  in  Wisconsin ! 


SIGNALS 


FROM 


THE   ATLANTIC  CABLE 


18  (205 


An  Address,  delivered  at  the  Telegraphic  Celebration,  in  the  City 
Hall,  Burlington,  New  Jersey,  September  1st,  1858. 


(206 


ADDRESS. 


My  Fellow-citizens  of  Burlington: 
Ladies  and  Gentlemen. 

The  union  of  the  two  hemispheres  is  a  festival 
event  in  the  history  of  the  great  globe.  America, 
from  Greenland  to  Magellan,  thrills  with  continental 
joy  at  the  pressure  of  the  sister  hands  of  Europe, 
Asia,  and  Africa.  And  the  mighty  hemisphere  of 
the  East,  in  one  family  three,  receives,  with  kindred 
emotion,  the  welcome  grasp  of  a  long-separated  and 
absent  member  of  the  terrestrial  household. 

The  globe  is  now  in  electric  union.  Ye  winds,  who 
have  swept  over  American  forests,  and  African  des- 
erts, and  Asiatic  mountains,  and  European  plains,  a 
new  agent,  swifter  far  than  your  aerial  speed,  is  a 
visitant  of  the  four  quarters  of  the  globe.  Ye  stars 
of  light,  who  chronicle  new  achievements  in  the  infi- 
nite universe,  record  in  the  book  of  ages  the  laying 
of  the  thought-wire  that  speaks  to  nations  through 
separating  gulfs.  Ye  mountains,  sublime  in  the  peaks 
of  everlasting  hills,  let  your  primeval  rocks  and  ver- 
dure  respond  to  the  human   enterprise  which   has 

(207) 


208  SIGNALS    FROM 

mounted  your  Alpine  heights,  and  has  now  thrown 
the  rein  of  mastery  over  your  submerged  depths,  and 
guides  its  way  across  the  rugged  mountain-path  of 
waters.  And  thou,  old  ocean,  majestic  in  the  billows 
of  thy  might,  that  anthem  the  praise  of  God  from 
shore  to  shore, — thou,  who  leadest  the  intercourse  of 
nations  by  outspreading  sail  and  grander  steam,  to 
thine  azure  deep  is  committed  a  new  trained  ele- 
mental power,  from  the  hands  of  Him  who  rules  the 
waves  and  directs  the  storm. 

The  air,  the  sky,  the  earth,  the  sea,  send  greeting 
to  the  festival  of  men,  and  make  one  with  the  nations, 
in  their  simultaneous  celebration  of  an  influential  and 
great  event  in  the  history  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

Occasions  like  the  present  have  their  high  moral 
purposes.  They  serve  to  explain  and  illustrate  the 
discovery  they  celebrate ;  they  magnify  to  its  true 
proportions  the  triumph  of  mind  over  matter ;  they 
secure  to  society  an  interval  of  intellectual  and  genial 
festivity;  they  exert  an  elevating  and  educating 
influence  on  the  popular  mind ;  they  render  homage 
to  providential  developments  in  the  world's  affairs ; 
and  they  assist  in  bringing  God  to  view  as  the  great 
and  glorious  Ruler  of  the  Universe. 

Fellow-citizens  of  Burlington,  it  is  becoming  to  the 
dignity  of  this  ancient  city,  and  to  its  educational 
and  industrial  spirit,  to  unite  with  other  cities  in  this 
and  in  distant  lands,  in  celebrating  the  successful 


THE     ATLANTIC     CABLE.  209 

laying  of  the  Atlantic  Telegraph.  This  is  one  of 
those  leading  and  happy  events  in  human  history, 
which,  when  it  occurs  first,  anticipates  the  emotions 
and  honours  of  future  triumphs  of  the  same  kind. 
Now  is  the  time  and  the  hour !  Our  celebration,  on 
the  appointed  day,  brings  us  into  heartfelt  connection 
with  the  general  joy  and  praise  ;  and  the  telegraphic 
poles  of  Burlington  exchange  signals  with  the  wires 
on  Albion's  cliffs,  and  return  the  festival  flashes, 
which  puke  with  the  power  of  life,  from  our  com- 
mercial metropolis  to  the  outstretched  boundaries  of 
this  great  Republic. 

The  subject  of  our  meditations  shall  be,  some  of 
the  lessons  taught  by  the  laying  of  the  Atlantic 
Telegraph.  If  I  have  succeeded  in  reading  any  of 
them,  I  desire  to  signal  to  you  their  true  import,  and 
to  stand  for  a  few  minutes  in  sympathetic,  electric 
union  with  your  minds  and  hearts  —  an  operator,  to 
explain  some  of  the  signs  and  the  seasons  in  the 
horizon  of  the  awe-struck  world. 

I.  The  first  lesson  of  the  submerged  telegraph  is 
clearly  the  superintendence  of  Divine  Providence 
in  the  affairs  of  men.  The  time  and  the  issuing  of 
this  event  proclaim  the  hand  of  God.  Occurring  a 
century,  or  half  a  century  ago,  it  would  have  been 
incongruous  to  human  affairs.  The  world  was  not  in 
a  condition  to  appreciate  or  profit  by  an  invention 
which  antedated  its  necessity.  God  arranges  all 
18*  o 


210  S  I G  N  A  L S     PE 0 M 

things  so  tli a t  everything  shall  be  in  its  place,  at  the 
right  time,  in  the  mighty  system  of  his  advancing 
Providence.  The  clock  on  the  dial  of  ages  strikes, 
only  when  the  seconds  and  minutes  make  up  the 
hour.  As  the  discovery  of  America  was  not  demanded 
by  the  condition  of  the  world,  prior  to  the  bold  and 
hopeful  adventure  of  the  divinely  guided  Columbus. 
so  an  oceanic  telegraph  came  into  being  only  when 
the  wants  of  the  nineteenth  century  sought  it  out 
among  the  ordained  inventions  of  a  responsive  Pro- 
vidence. The  discovery  of  America  in  1492  stands 
related  to  the  counsels  of  God,  just  as  the  laying  of 
the  Atlantic  telegraph  in  1858.  God  is  in  history. 
Divinity  overshadows  every  event  with  grandeur, 
and  cdves  to  it.  like  the  stars,  its  right  ascension  in  a 
sphere  of  glory. 

The  successful  issue  of  the  event  we  celebrate,  as 
well  as  its  time,  brings  to  view  Divine  Providence. 
Man  walks  beyond  the  bounds  of  his  domain,  when 
he  undertakes  to  thread  over,  by  the  line  of  his  skill, 
mountain  peaks,  submerged  in  ocean  depths.  Adven- 
turous was  he,  who  first  unfurled  a  sail  upon  the  bil- 
lows of  the  defiant  deep ;  but  what  language  can 
express  the  boldness,  and  even  hopelessness,  of  that 
enterprise  that  seeks  to  conquer,  not  space  on  the 
surface  wave,  but  on  the  unexplored  mud  and  cavern 
in.  the  darkness  of  the  distant  bottom  ?  To  what  but 
the  interposing  help   of   Divine  Providence  can  be 


THE     ATLANTIC     CABLE.  211 

ascribed  the  successful  deposit,  in  the  lower  parts  of 
the  boisterous  ocean,  of  a  wire,  measured  in  size  by 
a  human  finger,  and  in  length  by  a  twelfth  part  of 
the  distance  around  the  globe  ? 

In  1857,  the  first  Atlantic  experiment  was  made. 
On  the  5th  of  August  of  that  year,  two  ships,  well 
named  —  the  "Agamemnon,"  after  an  indomitable 
Greek  chieftain,  and  thus  representing  the  spirit  of 
men ;  the  "  Niagara,"  after  the  great  cataract,  and 
representing  the  wonders  of  nature  —  these  two  ves- 
sels set  sail  with  the  mysterious  cable,  one  end  of 
which  is  held  by  the  Old  World,  as  the  pledge  of  its 
firm  faith  in  the  enterprise.  Five  days  out  from  land. 
on  the  11th  of  August,  the  slender  cord,  intended  to 
reach  the  New  World,  is  broken  by  the  heaving  of 
the  vessel;  and  the  part  submerged,  of  three  hun- 
dred and  forty-four  miles,  is  left  a  buried  and  irre- 
coverable fragment  amid  the  curves  of  the  Atlantic 
plateau.  Thus  perished  the  hopes  of  the  first  expe- 
dition.    Man's  ability  was  inadequate  to  the  work. 

On  the  10th  of  June,  1858,  the  undaunted  ships 
again  set  out.  Violent  storms  forebode  disaster.  The 
Agamemnon  is  shaken  to  and  fro  by  the  sea,  as  if  to 
exult  over  the  frailty  of  human  workmanship,  and 
the  vessel  barely  escapes  wreck.  At  last  the  cable  is 
joined  in  mid-ocean,  and  the  ships  part  for  the  two 
hemispheres.  On  the  first  day  the  wire  is  broken  on 
the  Niagara,  on  the  second  day  at  the  bottom  of  the 


212  SIGNALS.  FROM 

ocean,  and  on  the  fourth  day  on  the  Again  em  i 
Three  failures,  with  the  loss  of  three  hundred  and 
thirty-five  miles  of  cable,  again  rebuke  human  impo- 
tency.  The  Niagara  returns  in  gloom,  followed  by 
her  cheerless  but  not  discomfited  compeer.  The  con- 
viction settles  on  the  popular  mind  that  the  enter- 
prise is  beyond  human  power.  And  so  it  is.  But 
not  beyond  God's.  The  Lord  on  high  is  mightier 
than  the  waves  of  the  sea. 

On  the  third  expedition  the  noble  ships  reached 
their  mid-ocean  rendezvous  on  the  27th  of  July,  true 
to  each  other  as  the  needle  to  the  pole,  and  eager  to 
make  the  magnet  available  at  the  bottom  of  the  ocean 
as  on  its  surface.  The  splice  was  effectually,  but  this 
time  rudely  made ;  and  "  the  apparatus  was  then 
dropped  into  the  sea  without  any  formality,  and  in- 
deed almost  without  a  spectator ;  for  those  on  board 
the  ship  had  witnessed  so  many  beginnings  to  the 
telegraphic  line,  that  it  was  evident  they  despaired 
of  there  ever  being  an  end  to  it."  The  fact  is,  that 
public  opinion,  both  on  sea  and  land,  had  reached 
such  a  point  of  depression  and  of  renunciation  of 
human  ability,  as  to  produce  the  general  feeling  that, 
without  the  special  interposition  of  Providence,  the 
work  must  prove  a  failure.  Thus  did  God  prepare 
the  world  to  put  its  trust  in  Him  alone.  Where  else 
is. trust  safe? 

The  ships  now  slowly  part  from  each  other  in  the 


THE     ATLANTIC     CABLE.  213 

concealed  glory  of  a  successful  mission.  Painful 
anxiety  keeps  watch  on  both  vessels.  The  pilots 
scan  the  sea  rather  than  the  stars,  and  the  interest  is 
at  the  stern  and  not  at  the  prow.  Never  did  mater- 
nal affection  note,  with  more  tenderness,  the  breath- 
ings of  a  new-born  infant,  than  did  the  electricians 
the  continuity  of  life  developed  by  this  wonderful 
child  of  nature  in  the  cradle  of  the  deep.  Day  after 
day  passes  without  disaster ;  but,  like  the  crisis  be- 
tween life  and  death,  apprehension  only  increases 
until  complete  safety  is  announced.  The  logs  of  both 
ships  show  the  variety  of  contingencies  which  alter- 
nately cherished  or  depressed  hope.  The  story  of  the 
double  passage  reads,  indeed,  like  the  romance  of  the 
adventures  in  the  earlier  voyages  of  discovery.  But 
here  is  the  higher  moral  sublimity  of  a  great  and 
well-matured  enterprise,  throwing  its  lights  and  sha- 
dows over  the  scene  !  What  dangers  encompass  the 
daring  work !  Behold  the  little  line,  sparkling  by 
day  in  the  sunbeams,  and  in  the  night  leaving  its 
slight,  phosphorescent  track  of  foam,  like  silver,  on 
the  billows.  Is  it  to  reach,  at  last,  its  twofold  desti- 
nation ?  What  perils  of  wind  and  storm,  of  waves, 
and  icebergs,  and  whales,  has  it  to  encounter !  What 
perils  of  Yankee  vessels  dashing  up  with  unapologiz- 
ing  curiosity  to  spy  out  the  mystery  of  the  strange 
proceedings !  What  perils  from  the  uncoiling  of  the 
spiral  heaps  of  those  miles  of  wire ;  from  splicing  and 


214  SIGNALS     FROM 

running  out  from  one  part  of  the  ship  to  another ; 
from  the  standing  still,  as  on  one  occasion  on  the 
Agamemnon,  of  the  paying-out  wheels  of  the  ma- 
chinery, when  the  vast  ship  hung  on  to  the  frail  cord  ; 
above  all,  what  perils  from  crossing  the  unknown 
heights  and  valleys  of  the  sea,  unvisited  by  man,  save 
by  a  few  plunges  of  his  long  sounding-line,  or  by  his 
own  lifeless  frame  asleep  in  the  watery  sepulchre  ! 
Columbus  on  the  prow  of  the  Santa  Maria,  in  search 
of  the  New  World,  depicts  the  double  gaze,  easterly 
and  westerly,  of  the  eager  hearts  on  the  Agamemnon 
and  Niagara.  The  water  at  length  shallows;  the 
sounding-line  telegraphs  approaching  land;  the  two 
harbors  are  won,  and  God  is  glorified. 

On  the  5 th  of  August,  the  cable  is  landed  on  both 
shores.  The  Niagara's  portion  is  carried  up  in  glad 
but  toiling  procession  to  the  station-house ;  and  the 
end  being  placed  in  connection  with  the  instrument, 
the  deflection  of  the  needle  on  the  galvanometer  shows 
a  good  electrical  condition  in  the  cable.  And  then 
and  there,  in  the  silence  of  the  awe  inspired  by  suc- 
cess from  heaven,  and  amid  the  rude  scenes  of  the 
station-house  in  the  wilderness,  the  good  Captain 
Hudson,  assembling  his  men,  remembers  God  and 
prays.  Few  of  earth's  scenes  were  more  sublime 
than  that  one,  in  the  forests  of  Newfoundland.  It 
stands  out  in  the  foreground  of  history,  like  Colum- 
bus kneeling  before  God  on  the  soil  of  the  New  World, 


THE     ATLANTIC     CABLE.  215 

or  De  Soto  planting  the  cross  on  the  banks  of  the 
Mississippi,  or  Brewster  and  the  Pilgrims  praying  and 
singing  psalms  at  the  landing-Rock  of  Plymouth.  Let 
this  scene  go  down  to  posterity  among  the  grandest 
memorials  of  our  national  history  ! 

The  religious  services  were  introduced  by  a  few 
appropriate  words,  beginning  with  these  :  "  The  work 
has  been  performed,  not  by  ourselves:  there  has  been 
an  Almighty  hand  over  us  and  aiding  us ;  and  with- 
out the  divine  assistance,  thus  extended,  success  was 
impossible."  In  the  same  spirit  of  '•  glory  to  God  in 
the  highest,"  Captain  Hudson  sent  his  first  telegraphic 
announcement  in  the  memorable  words  :   "  God  has 

BEEN  WITH  US.  TlIE  TELEGRAPHIC  CABLE  IS  LAID. 
WITHOUT  ACCIDENT  ;    AND    TO    HlM    BE    ALL    THE  GLORY." 

This  great  truth,  then,  of  God's  holy  Providence  in 
the  world'*  affairs,  is  Hashed  from  Valentia  to  Trinity 
Bay,  from  Europe  to  America,  and  around  the  circuit 
of  the  globe,  up  into  the  bright  arches  of  the  eternal 
heavens. 

II.  Another  of  the  lessons,  signalled  by  the  Atlan- 
tic Telegraph,  is  the  triumph  of  human  genius,  faith, 

AND    PERSEVERANCE. 

Let  it  be  distinctly  acknowledged,  that  every  en- 
dowment of  man  is  from  God.  It  is  the  inspiration 
of  the  Almighty  that  giveth  understanding.  The 
triumphs  of  man's  intellect  are  his  own,  only  as  the 
aided  emanations  of  a  created  instrumentality. 


210  SIGNALS    FROM 

The  human  mind,  like  the  stars  which  differ  in 
glory,  has  its  variations  of  capacity.  The  mass*  - 
are  scarcely  perceptible  on  the  map  of  the  firmament, 
inferior  glimmerings,  or  nebulae  undistinguishable  in 
the  vast  abyss  of  being.  The  morning  and  the  eve- 
ning star  is  solitary  in  the  grandeur  of  its  brightness. 
Superior  intellects  are  rare;  but  with  what  power 
they  attract  and  rule !  Great  men  in  science  and  the 
arts,  whose  inventions  and  discoveries  advance  civili- 
zation, reign  to  distant  ages. 

Man's  intellect,  however,  is  comparatively  feeble  in 
its  best  estate.  The  children  of  a  succeeding  genera- 
tion often  knowr  more  than  was  at  first  discerned  by 
the  mind  of  inventive  genius.  Three  considerations 
modify,  without  disowning,  the  homage  due  to  the 
triumphs  of  the  human  mind.  First,  new  discove- 
ries and  inventions  generally  originate  from  small  and 
suggestive  incidents,  and  not  from  independent,  origi- 
nal investigation.  Thus,  the  falling  of  an  apple  sug- 
gested to  Newton's  mind  the  principle  of  gravitation. 
The  idea  of  the  telescope  grew  out  of  the  experiment 
of  a  boy,  who,  in  using  two  lenses,  found  that  a  church- 
steeple  was  brought  nearer  in  an  inverted  form.  The 
properties  of  the  magnetic  needle  were  discovered  by 
u  some  curious  persons  who  were  amusing  themselves 
by  floating  a  loadstone,  suspended  upon  a  piece  of 
cork,  in  a  basin  of  water,  which,  when  left  at  liberty, 
was   observed  to  point  to  the  north."     The  art  of 


THE     ATLANTIC     CABLE.  217 

printing  derived  its  origin  from  the  effort  of  a  man 
in  Haarlem  to  amuse  his  children  by  transferring  to 
paper  some  letters  he  had  cut  on  the  smooth  bark  of 
a  tree.  A  new  epoch  was  created  in  the  department 
of  galvanism,,  or  animal  electricity,  by  Madame  Gal- 
vani's  notice  of  the  convulsions  in  the  muscles  of 
frogs  by  the  contact  of  metals.  Electricity  for  tele- 
graphic purposes  was  first  stumbled  upon  by  Oersted, 
of  Copenhagen,  who  observed  that  an  electric  current; 
transmitted  through  a  wire  placed  parallel  to  a  mag- 
netic needle,  either  above  or  below  it,  caused  the 
needle  to  deviate  to  the  right  or  left,  according  to  the 
direction  of  the  current.  In  short,  the  triumphs  of 
genius  in  the  arts  and  sciences,  generally  owe  their 
origin  to  suggestive  and  casual  incidents,  and  not  to 
the  original  determinations  of  the  human  intellect. 

Secondly.  Discoveries  and  inventions  are  the  work 
of  more  than  one  mind.  Not  to  multiply  illustrations, 
let  us  take  the  single  subject  of  Electricity,  the  great 
agent  in  telegraphing.  Dr.  Gilbert,  of  Colchester,  is 
the  first  to  record,  in  1660,  the  phenomenon  of  elec- 
tricity, which  he  produced  from  various  substances. 
Seven  years  later,  Otto  Guericke,  of  Germany,  brought 
out  the  electric  machine,  now  so  common,  although 
still  an  object  of  wonder.  In  1730,  Stephen  Grey 
divided  all  material  substances  into  electrics  and  non- 
electrics  ;  and  shortly  after,  Dufaye  discovered  the 
phenomena  of  attraction  and  repulsion.  The  experi- 
19 


218  SIGNALS    FROM 

merits  of  Kleist,  Cunceus,  and  Muschenbrcek,  dating 
from  17 40,  led  to  the  discovery  of  the  Leydcn  jar  in 
1  755.  About  this  time,  Franklin  proved  by  hi*  little 
kite  the  identity  between  electricity  and  lightning, 
and  gave  a  new  impulse  to  the  science,  by  estab- 
lishing the  universality  of  the  fluid  in  nature.  About 
1780,  Cavendish  laid  the  foundation  of  chemical  elec- 
tricity, by  decomposing  air  and  water  by  moan*  of 
this  agent.  In  1790,  Galvani,  and  in  1800,  Volta, 
added  to  the  advances  of  this  science,  by  the  discove- 
ries of  animal  magnetism  and  the  construction  of  the 
Voltaic  battery.  And  in  1819,  Oersted  announced 
the  discovery  of  Electro-Magnetism,  or  the  relations 
between  Electricity  and  Magnetism,  which  constitutes 
the  basis  of  the  telegraphic  art.  These  successive 
developments  of  this  particular  science,  serve  to  show 
that,  however  great  are  the  successes  of  intellect,  no 
one  mind  can  ever  lay  open  the  treasures  of  even  a 
single  vein  in  the  strata  of  knowledge. 

In  the  third  place,  it  requires  time  to  bring  all  dis- 
coveries into  practical  use.  Even  after  the  leading 
principle  has  been  discovered,  the  human  mind  is 
slow  in  applying  it  to  its  practical  ends.  The  power 
of  steam  was  long  known ;  but  it  was  not  until  1765 
that  Watt's  invention  of  performing  condensation  in  a 
separate  vessel  from  the  cylinder  was  applied  to  the 
steam  engine  ;  and  still  more  notable,  it  was  not 
until  1807,  or  nearly  half  a  century  later,  that  Fulton 


THE     ATLANTIC     CABLE.  219 

succeeded  in  propelling  a  steamboat  on  the  Hudson 
river;  and  not  until  1830,  that  steam  was  success- 
fully applied  to  railways." 

The  Electro- Magnetic  Telegraph,  like  the  Steam 
Engine  and  other  inventions,  is  the  creature  of  gradual 
development.  Oersted  in  1819  discovered  the  prin- 
ciple of  electro-magnetic  power;  and  in  1820,  the 
celebrated  Ampere  proposed  to  apply  the  principle  to 
a  telegraph,  with  the  crude  suggestion  that  as  many 
magnetic  needles  and  as  many  circuits  should  be  em- 
ployed as  there  were  characters  to  be  indicated. 
Schelling  and  Feclmer  proposed  the  employment  of 
fewer  needles.  Gauss  demonstrated,  afterwards,  that 
the  appropriate  combination  of  a  few  simple  signs  was 
all  that  was  necessary  to  form  a  language  for  tele- 
graphic purposes.  Sturgeon,  of  England,  was  the  first 
to  construct  an  electro-magnet  by  coiling  a  copper 
wire  around  an  iron  of  horse-shoe  shape.  Barlow,  of 
England,  in  1825,  failed  to  render  his  telegraph  avail- 
able, on  account  of  the  rapid  diminution  of  the  gal- 
vanic action  with  the  distance,  under  the  arrange- 
ments which  he  made.  The  great  desideratum  was 
to  propel  the  galvanic  power  through  an  indefinite 
circuit  of  wire.  In  1831,  Professor  Joseph  Henry, 
now  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  showed 
by  his  experiments  how  enormously  more  powerful 
magnets  might  be  constructed,  while  the  battery 
remained  the  same ;  and  he  also  showed  how  and  why 


'220  SIGNALS    FROM 

the  battery  might  be  so  arranged  that  the  rapid  dimi- 
nution of  the  effect  of  galvanism  might  be  prevented, 
so  that  the  effect  could  be  'produced  m  sufficient  intensify 
at  a  great  distance  ;  that  is,  so  that  we  might  tele- 
graph. Professor  Henry's  discovery  attracted  much 
attention  in  the  scientific  world;  but  he  did  not  him- 
self undertake  to  invent  a  machine  for  telegraphing, 
or  to  decipher  the  language  of  electro-magnetism.  In 
1833,  Weber,  of  Gottingen,  found  that  a  wire  for  tele- 
graphic purposes  on  land  required  no  special  insula- 
tion; and  in  this  year,  in  connection  with  Gauss,  set 
in  operation  a  telegraph  between  the  Observatory  of 
Gottingen  and  the  Cabinet  of  Natural  Philosophy,  by 
means  of  a  wire  a  mile  and  a  half  long.  Tn  1835. 
Professor  Morse,  of  New  York,  constructed  in  the 
University  of  New  York,  an  electro-magnetic  Tele- 
graph, about  a  third  of  a  mile  long,  and  transmitted 
the  word  "Eureka"  to  paper.  In  1837  much  pro- 
gress was  made.  In  June  of  that  year,  Cook  and 
Wheatstone,  of  England,  took  out  their  patent,  using 
a  deflective  point ;  in  July,  Steinheil  constructed  a 
telegraph  between  Munich  and  Bogenhausen,  em- 
ploying a  deflective  needle  to  make  dots  and  marks, 
as  representatives  of  the  alphabet;  and  in  October 
of  the  same  year,  Professor  Morse  filed  his  caveat, 
which  gave  a  general  outline  of  his  present  system. 
In  this  paper,  Professor  Morse  dates  his  inventions 
back  to  1832,  the  year  following  Professor  Henry's 


THE     ATLANTIC     CABLE.  221 

discoveries ;  but  telegraphing,  under  his  superintend- 
ence, did  not  go  into  practical  use  on  a  large  scale, 
until  the  completion  of  the  Washington  and  Balti- 
more line  in  1844.  At  first,  two  wires  were  consi- 
dered necessary  to  make  the  circuit,  one  at  the  ter- 
minus and  the  other  back.  Stevnlieil,  however,  dis- 
covered that  one-half  of  the  circuit  could  be  formed 
by  the  earth,  and  that  double  wires  were  unnecessary. 

In  the  matter  of  veritable  telegraphing,  in  the 
present  acceptation  of  that  word,  Professor  Morse,  of 
New  York,  is  justly  entitled  to  pre-eminence  among 
all  the  inventors  of  instruments  that  applied  the  pre- 
viously discovered  principles.  So  many  minds  have, 
in  fact,  co-operated  to  produce  the  telegraph  to  its 
present  working  order,  that  it  may  be  called  the 
invention  of  the  age,  rather  than  of  any  individual. 
Nevertheless,  Professor  Morse,  more  than  any  one 
man,  has  the  credit  of  bringing  the  telegraph  into 
practical  use  on  a  large  scale ;  sustaining  to  the  tele- 
graph the  same  relation  that  Fulton  does  to  steam 
navigation.1 

Even  after  the  operations  of  the  telegraph  were 
successful  on  land,  it  was  a  bold  thought  to  drop  the 
wire  into  the  bed  of  the  ocean  for  international  com- 


1  In  this  brief  sketch  of  the  discoveries  and  inventions  relating 

to  the  Telegraph  —  which  has  been  compiled  from  the  various 

sources  accessible  to  the  public  —  the  intention  has  been  to  be 

impartial,  and  to  give  to  each  individual  his  due  share  of  honour. 

19* 


222  SIGNALS     FRO  M 

munication.     But  time  assists  the  triumphs  of  genius 
and  perseverance.     In  November,  1851,  the  subma- 
rine telegraph  was  laid  between  Dover  and  Calais,  a 
distance  of  231   miles;  and  on   the  same  day  guns 
were  fired  at  Dover  by  means  of  the  electric  spark, 
communicated  from  Calais.     Franklin  had,  however, 
anticipated  the  experiment  in  another  mode,  and  had 
fired  spirits  by  an  electric  current  over  a  river,  a  cen- 
tury before,   in  1748.     Planting  his  Leyden  jar,  or 
battery,  on  one  side  of  the  Schuylkill,  the  philoso- 
pher, as  an  electro-King,  commanded  the  electric  cur- 
rent to  the  other  side  on  a  wire,  and  then  summoned 
it  to  return  by  way  of  the  river  and  earth.    Perhaps, 
before  long,  some  Yankee  hand,  fond  of  exploits,  may 
apply    American    electricity,    through    the    Atlantic 
Ocean,  to  the  touch-hole  of  British  cannon,  to  as- 
tonish the  Royal  Lion  and  the  Londoners !     Various 
submarine  telegraphs  have  been  set  in  operation  since 
1851 ;  but  the  greatest  of  nil  is  the  Atlantic  Tele- 
graph of  1858. 

It  does  not  detract  from  this  great  submarine  work, 
that  so  many  instrumentalities  were  necessary  to  its 
execution.  Almost  every  philosopher  has  made  some 
contribution  to  the  elucidation  of  its  scientific  prin- 
ciples, especially  Oersted,  Gauss,  Sturgeon,  Henry, 
Weber,  Steinheil,  and  Wheatstone;  almost  every 
inventor  has  aided  in  bringing  it  into  practical  use. 
especially   Gauss,  Weber,   Wheatstone,    Morse,    and 


THE     ATLANTIC     CABLE.  223 

Steinheil ;  hundreds  have  assisted  in  laying  the 
Atlantic  cable  —  Brooke  and  Berryman  in  sounding 
and  surveying  the  ocean  path ;  Maury  in  foretelling 
the  time  of  genial  skies ;  Armstrong  in  applying  gutta 
percha  as  the  insulating  material ;  Field  in  organizing 
the  companies,  furnishing  the  means,  and  superin- 
tending the  whole  work;  the  manufacturers,  Glass 
and  Elliott,  and  Newell,  whose  cunning  skill  wrought 
the  ingenious  wires ;  Berdan  and  Everett,  who  in- 
vented the  paying-out  machinery;  Woodhouse  and 
Canning,  the  engineers ;  Bright  and  Whitehouse,  the 
electricians;  Preely  and  Hudson,  Dayman  and  Old- 
ham, the  commanders ;  Morse  and  Bache,  in  their 
constant  and  valuable  counsel  from  beginning  to  end ; 
the  British  and  American  governments,  who  supplied 
the  vessels ;  the  gallant  tars  and  laborious  working- 
men,  who  encountered  toil  day  and  night ;  —  but, 
whatever  number  of  persons  may  have  been  employed, 
intellectually  or  physically,  in  laying  the  Atlantic 
cable,  it  is  certain  that  the  work  done  is  a  great  work, 
and  that  the  mind  of  man,  which  fathomed  the  idea 
and  anchored  it  in  the  deep,  has  a  mighty  range  for 
its  exploits,  even  from  the  stars  of  heaven  down  to 
the  chambers  of  ocean's  darkness. 

Whilst  due  honour  should  be  awarded  to  all,  on 
both  sides  of  the  Atlantic,  who  have  aided,  by  thought 
or  hand,  this  transmarine  achievement,  the  names 
that  will  be  forever  most  dear  to  American  minds  are 


22-1  SIG  N  A  LS     F  ROM 

Franklin,  Henry,  Morse,  and  Field  : — Franklin,  for 
identifying  lightning  with  electricity,  and  thus  con- 
necting earth  with  the  heavens;  Henry,  for  devising 
the  means  and  demonstrating  the  practicability  of 
telegraphing  through  an  indefinitely  long  circuit  of 
wire ;  Morse,  for  reducing  the  electric  current  to  a 
written  language ;  and  Field,  for  successfully  execu- 
ting the  great  sub-Atlantic  enterprise. 

The  present  commemoration  holds  in  special  honour 
the  laying  of  the  Atlantic  cable.  This  work  involved 
three  separate  and  special  classes  of  difficulties  :  —  1 . 
The  organization  of  the  men  and  means  for  the  enter- 
prise, including  the  immense  cost  of  the  experiment, 
which  was  about  two  millions  of  dollars.  2.  The 
making  pf  the  right  kind  of  cable,  which  involved 
the  greatest  skill  in  the  selection  of  materials  and  in 
their  mechanical  combination  into  one  cord.  3.  The 
laying  of  the  line  at  the  bottom  of  the  ocean,  which 
required  the  space  of  two  large  vessels,  careful  coil- 
ing and  uncoiling,  and  paying  out  into  the  sea  by  the 
most  ingenious  machinery. 

The  present  celebration  gives  mingled  homage  to 
science,  art,  and  practical  skill.  Taken  all  together, 
the  combinations  of  the  Atlantic  Telegraph  consti- 
tute unquestionably  one  of  the  greatest  triumphs 
ever  accomplished  by  the  human  intellect.  The  event 
teaches  a  lesson  of  faith,  energy,  and  perseverance, 
to  universal  man.  . 


THE     ATLANTIC     CABLE.  225 

III.  Another  lesson  of  the  Atlantic  Telegraph  is 
that  it  brings  great  advantages,  political,  social,  eco- 
nomical, and  religious,  to  the  world.  Many  benefits, 
numerous  as  its  own  seven-fold  cord,  are  wrapped  up 
in  the  inventory  of  those  mysterious  strands. 

1.  The  promotion  of  the  friendship  of  nations  is 
one  of  the  first  natural  advantages  of  the  Atlantic 
Telegraph.  The  division  of  the  world  into  different 
nations  by  means  of  mountains,  rivers,  and  oceans, 
is  a  part  of  the  arrangements  of  infinite  goodness. 
Great  ends  of  mercy,  as  well  as  of  retribution,  were 
answered  by  the  confusion  of  tongues  and  the  disper- 
sion of  mankind.  In  the  progress  of  nges,  the  diver- 
sity, necessary  to  the  best  interests  of  the  race,  was 
to  be  relieved  by  the  providential  preparations  for  a 
more  genial  intercourse.  The  sharp,  repulsive  preju- 
dices and  rude  hostilities  of  the  earlier  eras  of  civili- 
zation were  to  be  superseded  by  a  system  of  attract- 
ing influences.  At  the  present  day  all  the  tendencies 
of  the  world's  advancement  are  towards  intercourse, 
unity,  and  peace.  The  swift  communication  of 
thought  is  the  best  harbinger  of  universal  concord. 
As  the  original  dispersion  of  mankind  was  accom- 
plished by  the  confusion  of  language  at  the  tower  of 
Babel,  so  its  reunion  in  the  bonds  of  peace  is  pro- 
moted by  the  creation  of  a  new,  universal  language, 
outstripping  the  resources  of  combined  human  tongues. 

The  wire  itself  symbolizes  the  union  of  all  lands, 

p 


226  S  J  G  N  A  LS     FROM 

and  the  fraternity  which  grace  is  to  give  to  tin. 
nations.  Higher  than  physical  juxtaposition  is  the 
intellectual  and  moral  nearness  of  vision  that  out 
strips  the  course  of  the  sun.  and  becomes  a  universal 
source  of  light  and  genial  attraction.  The  very  ex- 
istence of  neighborly  tics  sanctifies  intercourse.  Never 
did  Science  before  thus  re-echo,  from  the  deeps  of 
the  sea,  the  hosannahs,  which  rang  through  the  fir- 
mament at  the  birth  of  the  Prince  of  Peace  :  "  Glory 
to  God  in  the  highest;  on  earth  peace,  and  good-will 
towards  men." 

As  a  specimen  of  the  connection  between  the  dif- 
fusion of  intelligence  and  national  peace,  it  may  be 
stated  that  if  there  had  been  a  telegraph,  the  last  war 
with  Great  Britain  might  have  been  avoided.  The 
British  Orders  in  Council,  which  restricted  our  com- 
merce on  the  continent,  and  which  constituted  one 
of  the  prominent  causes  of  our  Declaration  of  War 
in  1812,  were  actually  repealed  before  that  declara- 
tion was  made,  although  the  slow  rate  at  which  in- 
telligence then  travelled,  prevented  our  receipt  of  the 
intelligence  in  time.  So  also  the  great  battle  of  New 
Orleans  was  fought  after  the  preliminaries  of  peace 
were  signed ;  but  there  was  no  telegraph  to  flash  an 
armistice  into  the  smoke  of  the  contending  armies. 

In  proportion  as  the  nations  are  brought  into  daily 
communication,  mutual  respect  and  sympathy  are  en- 
gendered.    Diplomacy  will  cease  to  be  a  mischievous 


THE     ATLANTIC     CABLE.  22  7 

appendage  to  thrones  and  cabinets.  And  since  no 
movement  can  occur  in  national  policy  without  its  in- 
stantaneous communication  to  the  whole  world,  it  is 
clear  that  the  Telegraph  must  become  the  Oracle  of 
Peace.  Congruous  to  its  character,  is  its  first  enun- 
ciation  of  peace  with  China,  and  intercourse  estab- 
lished between  the  civilized  world  and  three  hundred 
millions  of,  hitherto,  self-inclosed  barbarians ! 

No  two  nations  on  the  earth  ousrht  to  be  united  bv 
firmer  bonds  than  those  two,  whose  telegraphic  sta- 
tions now  respond  flash  to  flash.  War  between  Eng- 
land and  America  would  imperil  the  interests  of  civil- 
ization. Welcome  to  all  Anglo-Saxon  hearts  is  the 
new  union-tie,  which  enables  the  Royal  Queen  and 
the  Republican  President  to  exchange,  on  the  same 
day,  mutual  congratulations  in  behalf  of  fifty  millions 
of  kindred  freemen.  May  the  British  lion  and  the 
American  eagle  ever  dwell  in  peace  together,  and  the 
little  child  of  the  telegraph  lead  them  !  In  the  el<  ■- 
quent  language  of  Governor  King,  of  New  York,  at 
a  recent  celebration  :  "For  England  I  have  a  noble, 
kindred  feeling.  In  common  she  speaks  the  language 
of  Shakspeare,  Milton,  Bacon,  and  Newton;  and 
united,  we  may  walk  down  the  future  centuries,  a 
mutual  benefit,  and  the  hope  of  struggling  nations." 

2.  Another  benefit  of  the  Atlantic  Telegraph  is  in 
its   relations  to  commerce.     A    merchant1   justly   re- 

1  Mr.  A.  A.  Low. 


228  SIGNALS     FROM 

marked,  in  the  New  York  Chamber  of  Commerce,  of 
the  newly-laid  telegraph :  "  We  hail  this  as  a  com- 
mercial enterprise,  carried  into  effect,  more  than  for 
any  other  purpose,  to  answer  the  demand  of  a  grow- 
ing commerce,  —  of  a  commerce  guided  by  the  light 
of  an  advancing  civilization." 

Intelligence  aids  commerce  in  many  ways.  First, 
it  places  the  operations  of  commerce  upon  the  true 
and  broad  foundation  of  knowledge.  Secondly,  it 
gives  regularity  to  its  laws.  Thirdly,  it  stimulates 
its  advance  into  all  quarters  of  the  globe.  And 
Fourthly,  it  gives  equality  to  all  who  engage  in  its 
enterprises. 

A  knowledge  of  the  state  of  the  markets  in  all 
parts  of  the  world,  at  the  time  of  acting,  must  effect- 
ually check  rash  and  illegitimate  speculation.  The 
telegraphs  in  our  own  country  have  already  equalized 
prices  throughout  its  length  and  breadth,  and  regu- 
lated exchanges  with  the  most  exact  precision.  The 
same  results  will  be  now  obtained  for  commercial  ope- 
rations between  Great  Britain  and  America,  and 
eventually  for  the  whole  world.  The  quotations  of 
the  business  of  tjie  day  on  the  Royal  Exchange  and 
at  the  Bourse,  whose  transactions  close  an  hour  or 
two  before  those  in  Wall  Street  begin,  will  have  a 
daily  influence  upon  the  American  market.  And 
soon,  the  Exchanges  of  all  the  capitals  on  both  hemi- 
spheres  being   in   full   telegraphic    and   commercial 


THE     ATLANTIC     CABLE.  22'.' 

union,  Commerce  will  possess  the  advantage  of  a  new 
power,  worthy  of  the  mysterious  winds  that  waft  her 
ships,  and  of  the  grand  seas  that  bear  them  in  their 
course. 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  that  one  of  the  earliest  mer- 
cantile results  of  the  Atlantic  Telegraph,  was  to  com- 
municate the  information  of  renewed  intercourse  with 
China,  thus  placing  American  vessels,  trading  with 
that  distant  land,  on  the  same  footing  with  English 
or  other  foreign  vessels,  which  otherwise  would  have 
had  the  start  of  ten  or  fifteen  days. 

The  Atlantic  Telegraph  is  to  Commerce  what  the 
gathering  of  facts  is  to  Science.  It  encourages,  en- 
larges, purifies,  invigorates,  and  confirms  its  domain. 
Let  Commerce,  then,  bring  her  offerings  from  afar, 
gather  her  tributes  from  every  shore,  and  wherever 
the>  winds  swell  the  glad  sails  of  her  ship,  do  homage 
to  this  new  benefactor  of  the  great  mercantile  world. 

3.  The  advantages  of  the  Telegraph  to  the  various 
branches  of  mechanical  labor  are  incalculable.  Know- 
ledge and  civilization  are  the  allies  of  human  indus- 
try. Every  new  invention  tends  to  mitigate  human 
toil,  to  dignify  labor,  to  increase  the  sources  of  com- 
fort, and  to  elevate  the  working  classes,  intellectually, 
morally,  and  politically.  The  laborer  with  his  barrow, 
the  blacksmith  at  his  forge,  the  boat-builder  in  his 
yard,  the  shoemaker  with  his  last,  the  tinman  at  his 
instruments,  the  carpenter  with  his  saw,  the  mason 
20 


230  SIGNALS    FROM 

with  his  trowel,  the  hatter  at  his  block,  the  painter 
with  his  brush,  the  printer  at  his  types,  the  tailor 
with  his  needle,  in  short,  all  mechanics,  of  every  oc- 
cupation and  grade, — and  work  is  honourable  in  all ; 
idleness  is  vice  —  I  say,  all  mechanics  are  interested 
iu,  and  benefited  by,  every  discovery  and  invention 
of  the  age.  It  might  have  seemed  to  some  a  singu- 
lar and  incongruous  thing,  to  see  workingmen  in  New 
York  turn  out  in  a  procession,  two  miles  in  length,  on 
the  day  the  success  of  the  laying  of  the  Atlantic 
cable  was  announced.  With  a  full  band  of  music  and 
with  banners,  the  hardy  workmen,  in  their  everyday 
clothes,  marched  in  a  festival  procession,  which  ex- 
tended from  Union  Square  to  the  Park.  This  was 
the  testimony  of  men  of  sense  to  the  general  value 
of  the  new  improvement,  and  to  its  influence  on  their 
own  interests  and  happiness.  Whatever  promotes 
the  prosperity  of  the  city  and  of  the  country,  helps 
the  cause  of  the  laborer  and  the  mechanic.  This 
principle  is  as  true  as  the  hammer  to  the  head  of  the 
nail,  or  a  plummet  dropping  straight  down  by  the  side 
of  a  wall. 

When  the  workingmen  of  New  York  had  assem- 
bled in  the  Park,  the  President  of  the  Commissioners 
of  the  Central  Park  thus  forcibly  addressed  them  : 

" Fellow-citizens  and  fellow-icorhnen  of  the  Central 
Park :  This  procession  of  laboring  men  of  the  city, 
turning  spontaneously  from  their  daily  work  into  line 


THE     ATLANTIC     CABLE.  231 

of  two  miles  long,  with  ploughs,  drays,  spades,  and 
all  the  insignia  of  labor,  adds  a  most  significant  fea- 
ture to  the  celebration  of  this  most  wonderful  achieve- 
ment of  time.  While  bankers,  and  brokers,  and  ship- 
owners, and  manufacturers,  are  all  fathoming  the 
influence  of  this  event  upon  their  peculiar  vocations, 
the  intelligence  of  the  laboring  man  is  not  behind  in 
discovering  its  bearings  upon  his  interests  and  the  in- 
terests of  labour  throughout  the  world.  Movement, 
activity,  transportation  by  rail  and  by  ship,  by  land 
and  by  sea,  are  the  life  of  this  great  market-place  of 
the  West  and  of  the  East.  All  inventions  facilitating 
the  exchange  of  material  products  and  articles,  and 
the  interchange  of  thought,  must  enhance  the  great- 
ness of  this  metropolis ;  and  it  is  not  singular  that  you 
who  are  engaged  in  a  work  that  is  to  add  beauty  to  its 
greatness,  should  sympathize  in  an  event  that  so  deeply 
concerns  its  advancement.  Whatever  tends  to  equal- 
ize the  prices  of  commodities,  operates  to  arrest  those 
sudden  periodical  shocks  that  paralyze  trade  and 
manufactures,  and  bear  so  heavily  upon  labour.  This 
the  ocean  telegraph  must  do,  and  I  find  a  chief  grati- 
fication in  a  faith  that  points  out  to  me  this  result. 
While  officials  speak  of  this  event  in  the  language 
of  state,  this  demonstration  of  labor  shows  that  the 
great  heart  of  the  people  beats  with  an  enthusiasm 
worthy  of  the  day,  and  of  the  wonder  of  ages.  It 
cannot  be  that  this  new  avenue  of  thought,   that 


232  SIGNALS    FROM 

brings  the  civilized  people  of  the  earth  within  an 
hour  of  each  other,  will  ever  fail  to  subserve  the 
highest  interests  of  humanity." 

4.  The  power  of   the   telegraph  in  extending   tht 
knowledge  and  influence  of  republican  institutions  will 
aid  to  bless  the  world.     Our  country  has  remained 
isolated  from   the  nations  until  the  well-being  of  its 
free  institutions  has  been  well  demonstrated  in  its 
history.     The  Old  World  has  felt  some  of  the  move- 
ments of  liberty  ;  but  its  irregular  fires  of  inspiration 
have  been  followed  by  desolation.     Before  the  influ- 
ence of  America  in  overthrowing  tyranny  could  be 
fully  felt  upon  the  earth,  it  was  necessary  to  bring 
its  system  of  government  into  closer  proximity  with 
the  Old  World.     Steamships  and  the  press  have  al- 
ready contributed  to  this  result ;  and  now,  the  quick 
light  of  the  telegraph  exhibits,  side  by  side,  the  insti- 
tutions of  freedom  and  the  thrones  of  tyranny.     The 
cause  of  liberty  always  gains  by  light.     The  increase 
of  knowledge  tends  to  the  political  regeneration  of 
the  earth,  and  to  the  establishment  of  the  great  prin- 
ciples of  popular  government  from  pole  to  pole. — 
"  The   tyrants  of  the  world   will  quail   under    the 
searching  glances  of  an  argus-eyed  public  sentiment. 
The  present  system  of  telegraphing  is,  as  it  were, 
blending  the  mind  of  the  world  into  one  stupendous 
republic." 

All  inventions   are  in  freedom's  favour.     It  has 


THE     ATLANTIC     CABLE.  233 

been  said  that  the  locomotive  was  a  great  democrat ; 
and  so  it  is,  in  the  true  sense  of  that  word.  In  the 
same  enlarged  signification,  the  Atlantic  Telegraph 
is  a  true  republican.  Railways  and  electric  wives 
unite  in  unfolding  the  glories  of  self-government  to 
expectant  nations ;  and  even  the  interest  taken  by 
Americans  in  the  very  celebration  of  the  Atlantic 
Telegraph,  goes  up,  like  a  jubilant  shout,  to  cheer  the 
hopes  of  the  oppressed,  and  to  warn  Tyranny  of  its 
doom.  Soon  may  Freedom's  be  a  universal  do- 
minion : 

"And  henceforth,  there  shall  be  no  chain, 
Save  underneath  the  sea, 
The  wires  shall  murmur  through  the  main 
Sweet  songs  of  liberty." 

5.  The  influence  of  the  telegraph  upon  the  press 
will  be  salutary  and  powerful.  More  than  any  other 
department  of  business,  the  press  feels  the  power  of 
this  great  enterprise,  which  establishes  almost  instan- 
taneous communication  with  all  parts  of  the  world. 
The  Telegraph  will  not  only  stimulate  the  desire  of 
the  people  for  intelligence,  but  it  will  throw  increased 
ability  and  activity  into  the  press,  in  order  to  meet 
the  growing  demands  of  the  public.  The  newspa- 
per is  one  of  the  great  institutions  of  the  age.  If 
its  necessity  has  ever  before  been  questioned,  all  doubt 
of  its  power  and  usefulness  vanishes  before  the  land- 
20* 


^34  SIGNALS     FROM 

ward  and  seaward  telegraphs,  whieh  send  to  the  press 
the  contributions  of  all  nations. 

6.  Science  shall  receive  rewards  from  her  own 
achievements. 

The  ocean  telegraph  has  been  already  of  use  to 
science,  by  showing  what  modifications  the  electric 
wave  undergoes  under  such  new  circumstances.  It 
will  serve,  if  it  endures,  to  throw  light  upon  the  ve- 
locity of  galvanic  electricity,  and  enable  the  electri- 
cian to  investigate  the  general  laws  of  the  fluid,  when 
thus  constrained. 

The  Atlantic  Telegraph  can  also  be  employed  in 
determining  the  difference  of  longitude  between  ob- 
servatories, or  stations,  in  Europe  and  America,  and 
may  be  brought  into  use  for  certain  astronomical 
purposes. 

It  is,  in  short,  a  piece  of  philosophical  apparatus  on 
a  grand  scale.  The  electrician  will  cherish  it  w  ith 
the  love  of  the  astronomer  for  his  telescope,  or  the 
chemist  for  his  retort.  Its  connection  with  farther 
discoveries  is  a  certainty  in  an  age  of  physical 
inquiry.1 


1  The  "London  Morning  Post"  says,  that  it  is  understood 
that,  the  Atlantic  Cable  transmits  the  electricity  with  sufficient 
rapidity,  but  that  it  retains  it,  time  being  required  for  its  dis- 
charge, after  it  has  been  communicated  to  the  wire.  The  first 
signal  is  transmitted  instantaneously ;  but  the  wire  does  not 
readily  part  with  the  charge,  and  the  electricity  it  retains  pre- 
vents the  effect  of  a  second  signal  from  being  perceived  on  the 


THE     ATLANTIC     CABLE.  235 

Among  the  rewards  of  science,  on  this  occasion,  is 
the  universal  homage  yielded  by  the  multitude.  No 
longer  regarded  as  an  aristocrat  of  high  pretensions, 
living  in  the  seclusion  of  a  grand,  but  selfish  and  use- 
less domain,  Science  is  welcomed  as  the  handmaid  of 
industry  and  the  arts,  and  obtains  from  the  masses 
to-day  the  most  triumphant  honours.  This  restora- 
tion to  her  true  position  is  proof  of  her  native  dignity 
and  worth.  Never  has  Science  received  so  hearty 
and  gracious  a  demonstration  to  her  praise.  Whilst 
Jupiter  places  at  her  feet  the  thunderbolts  of  the 
firmament,  and  Neptune  the  trident  of  the  Ocean, 
and  Vulcan,  the  miraculous  implements  of  Cyclopean 
forges,  the  crown  of  glory  is  placed  upon  her  head 
by  the  Queen  of  Beauty,  amidst  acclamations  which 
fill  the  conclave. 

7.  The  benefits  which  the  telegraph  will  confer 
upon  the  cause  of  Religion,  are  as  certain  as  that  Re- 
ligion's is  the  greatest  cause  on  earth.  Christianity 
has,  in  the  first  place,  a  common  interest  in  all  that 
relates  to  the  advancement  of  society.  Whatever 
cultivates  good-will  among  men,  facilitates  commerce, 

distant  instrument.  The  difficulty,  which  was  experienced  in  the 
Telegraph  to  the  Hague,  was  overcome  by  discharging  the  wire 
after  each  signal,  and  this  was  done  by  sending  the  electrical  cur- 
rent in  the  reverse  direction  Such  an  arrangement  does  not  seem 
to  be  sufficient  to  put  the  Atlantic  Cable  in  satisfactory  working 
order.  Science,  however,  will  doubtless  discover  a  remedy  in 
due  time. 


230  SIGNALS     FROM 

stimulates  industry,  enlarges  the  sphere  of  free  insti- 
tutions, benefits  the  press,  and  aids  science  and  know- 
ledge, advances  religion  too.  Every  new  discovery 
is  tributary  to  the  kingdom  of  Christ.  Of  how  much 
use  to  religion  has  been  the  telescope,  the  microscope, 
the  compass,  the  loom,  the  printing-press,  the  steam- 
engine  !  Thus  will  it  also  be  with  the  Atlantic  Tel- 
egraph, through  the  general  relation  between  the 
progress  of  society  and  the  cause  of  truth  and  right- 
eousness. 

But  further  than  this,  religion  derives  a  direct 
advantage  from  the  use  of  the  telegraph,  like  the 
secular  interests  of  society.  A  knowledge  of  the 
state  of  mankind  in  every  nation,  constitutes  the 
basis  of  evangelical  effort,  and  stimulates  the  prayer 
and  zeal  requisite  to  carry  on  it's  operations.  If  the 
angels  of  heaven  were  to  descend,  as  visible  messen- 
gers, to  report  daily  the  condition  of  the  world,  they 
would  perforin  the  service  that  the  telegraph,  in  the 
name  of  heaven's  King,  is  commissioned  to  do,  through 
the  inspirations  of  its  swift-winged  words.  Every 
agent  on  earth  is  God's  agent  to  execute  his  will. 
The  luminary  that  compasses  the  circuit  of  the  hea- 
vens, and  the  time-defying  spark  that  pervades  the 
cable  of  the  deep,  have  each,  in  their  origin,  purpose, 
and  results,  a  relation  to  Deity.  God  carries  forward 
the  plan  of  redemption  by  means  of  the  vast  system 
of  events,  which,  each  and  all,  small  and  great,  old 


THE     ATLANTIC     CABLE.  'I'd  t 

and  new,  make  up  the  glory  of  Providence.  Tele- 
graphs ride  over  mountains,  and  leap  through  the 
seas,  that  they  may  prepare  the  highway  of  the  Lord, 
and  be  the  forerunners  of  the  chariots  of  his  sal- 
vation. 

It  is  easy  to  realize  that  this  great  invention  of 
the  century  impresses  upon  the  mind  and  heart  of 
the  religious  world  the  idea  of  unity,  and  thus  aids 
in  creating  a  power,  antagonistic  to  the  injurious  sepa- 
rations and  alienations,  too  long  prevalent  in  the 
Church.  A  better  era  is  at  hand.  Unity  is  the 
familiar  lesson  among  the  religious  demonstrations  of 
Providence.  Unity  is  the  loving  truth  of  Gospel 
grace.  Unity  springs  from  genuine  Christian  inter- 
course, like  the  morning  light,  to  bless  the  world. 
Unity  gladdens  the  train  of  enlarged  evangelical 
efforts  among  the  millions  of  mankind.  Unity  is 
celebrated  by  the  moral  influences  of  each  world- 
related  event.  Unity  is  transmitted,  with  the  love 
of  God.  to  the  Church,  in  every  new  memorial  of  His 
power  and  glory. 

Such  is  a  brief  view  of  the  general  blessings  radi- 
ating from  this  work  of  light,  whose  success  we  are 
met  to  celebrate. 

It  is  not,  indeed,  to  be  disguised  that  the  telegraph 
may  also  be  employed  for  purposes  of  evil.  If  Satan 
transformed  himself  into  an  angel  of  light,  it  is  no 
marvel  if  he  still  use  the  agency  of  light  in  strength- 


238  SIGNALS    FROM 

ening  his  influence  and  dominion.  But,  for  the  pur- 
poses of  the  wicked,  light  is  the  most  hazardous  and 
self-destructive  of  all  weapons.  The  devil,  in  his 
attempts  to  quote  Scripture,  was  overwhelmed  by  the 
replies  of  the  Son  of  Man.  All  assaults  upon  the 
cause  of  truth  and  liberty  through  the  telegraph,  will 
bo  repelled  by  the  avenging  power  of  right,  in  the 
Providence  of  the  Most  High. 

TV.  Another  thought  is  transmitted  through  the 
Atlantic  Telegraph,  as  a  commemorative  lesson  to 
the  immortal  minds  that  celebrate  its  achievement. 
Tt  is  that  this  great  event  is  among  the  most  impress- 
ive, as  well  as  the  latest,  of  the  providential  indica- 
tions of  THE  APPROACH  OF  THE  MILLENNIUM. 

The  age  in  which  we  live  is  intense  with  activity, 
change,  and  progress.  There  seems  to  be  a  mar- 
shalling of  events  to  terminate  a  great  and  triumphant 
campaign.  Behold  the  nations  of  Europe  sighing 
after  a  better  day  amid  the  gloom  of  ancient  systems, 
the  Ottoman  empire  expiring  in  desolate  impotence, 
the  great  and  portentous  commotions  that  have  swept 
over  India's  plains,  the  Jews  looking  to  Palestine 
with  revived  national  aspirations,  the  unfolding  of 
the  gates  of  China  to  the  intercourse  of  a  long- 
excluded  world,  the  grand  preparations  on  the  Paci- 
fic's shores,  the  opening  of  Central  America  as  the 
highroad  to  the  recovery  of  the  kingdoms  farther 
south,  the  numerous  and  industrious  explorations  in 


THE    ATLANTIC     CABLE.  239 

Africa,  as  if  to  connect  her,  in  time,  with  the  general 
movement  of  this  electric  age ;  and,  above  all,  behold 
the  progress  of  Christianity  in  every  land,  and  espe- 
cially the  existing  revival  of  religion  which  is  gilding 
the  mountain-tops,  and  breaking  in  with  glory  upon 
the  darkness  of  thousands  and  ten  thousands  of 
human  hearts ;  —  all  these,  with  other  providential 
declarations  in  the  political  and  religious  world,  an- 
nounce a  crisis  in  human  history.  The  horoscope  of 
Time  points  to  great  changes  in  the  zodiac  of  nations; 
and  all  the  events  on  this  world  of  wonders  seem  to 
be  propelling  it  towards  a  sublimer  destiny.  The 
kingdoms  of  the  earth,  as  at  the  Advent  of  Christ, 
are  in  providential  training,  with  a  great  expectation ; 
and  just  at  this  period,  the  telegraphic  achievement 
towards  universal  progress  and  unity  startles  conti- 
nents into  awe. 

What  is  the  consummation,  foretold  by  this  com- 
bination of  uniform  signs  ?  It  is  no  less  than  the 
millennium  —  when  the  Lord  shall  reign  King  of 
nations  as  He  is  King  of  saints.  This  event,  accord- 
ing to  Prophecy,  cannot  now  be  far  distant.  Its 
exact  period  is,  doubtless,  beyond  the  computations 
of  the  human  mind.  Biblical  scholars  differ  about 
the  time  of  the  commencement  of  the  latter-day 
glory,  mainly  because  they  differ  about  the  commence- 
ment of  certain  eras,  spoken  of  by  Daniel  and  John. 
in  reference  to  the  duration  of  the  reign  of  Antichrist, 


240  SIGNALS     FROM 

whatever  may  be  meant  by  that  term.  Many  stu- 
dents of  prophecy  in  the  Protestant  Church  have 
fixed  upon  the  year  18GG  as  the  one  that  is  to  wit- 
ness "the  beginning  of  the  end." 

Assuming  the  year  606  (the  time  when  the  Empe- 
ror Phocas  conferred  on  Boniface  III  the  title  of  Uni- 
versal Bishop),  as  the  year  for  the  commencement  of 
the  persecution  of  the  Church,  they  add  to  it  the 
1260  years,  which  mark  the  precise  time  of  the  reign 
of  Antichrist,  and  thus  arrive  at  the  result  of  1866, 
as  an  important  era,  preliminary  to  the  Millennium, 
if  not  actually  introductory  to  it.  Some,  however, 
reckon  the  1260  years  from  the  year  756,  when  the 
Emperor  Pepin  gave  temporal  dominion  to  the  Uni- 
versal Bishop,  and  thus  fixed  the  millennial  epoch  in 
the  year  2016.  Admitting  this  latter  computation 
to  be  the  most  probable,  the  interval  between  1866 
and  2016  is  not  longer  than  might  be  expected,  for 
putting  into  complete  and  successful  operation  all  the 
means  requisite  for  the  full  introduction  of  the  Mil- 
lennium ;  although  God  may  bring  it  to  pass  at  any 
period,  like  the  sudden  and  universal  illumination  of 
the  firmament  by  His  messenger  lightnings.  - 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  millennial  glory 
is  to  begin  before  many  years.  One  of  its  antecedents 
is  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  to  every  creature,  a 
great  spiritual  work,  which  is  in  the  course  of  vic- 
tory.   The  prediction  that  in  those  days  "  many  shall 


THE     ATLANTIC     CABLE.  241 

run  to  and  fro,  and  knowledge  be  increased  "  is  being 
remarkably  fulfilled  by  the  aspects  of  the  times.  The 
text  places  intercourse  and  knowledge  in  conjunction; 
just  as  the  railway  and  the  telegraph,  which  are  the 
champions  of  each,  and  each  of  both,  are  usually 
found  in  juxtaposition.  The  telegraph  will  soon  sway 
its  amazing  power  in  every  realm;  yea,  it  already 
reigns.  "  There  is  no  speech,  no  language ;  their 
voice  is  not  heard.  Their  line  is  gone  out  through 
all  the  earth,  and  their  words  to  the  end  of  the 
world."  The  quick,  pervading  nature  of  the  tele- 
graph is  suited  to  a  day  of  knowledge.  Its  cord  har- 
monizes with  the  universal  song :  "  Glory  to  God  in 
the  highest;  and  on  earth  peace,  good-will  toward 
men."  Soon  will  it  announce  that  nations  have 
beaten  "  their  swords  into  ploughshares  and  their 
spears  into  pruning-hooks,"  and  that  athe  earth  is 
filled  with  the  knowledge  of  the  glory  of  the  Lord, 
as  the  waters  cover  the  sea." 

Nor  is  there  any  agent  in  nature  that  so  well  sym- 
bolizes the  instantaneous  transactions  of  the  resurrec- 
tion morn.  "  In  a  moment,  in  the  twinkling  of  an 
eye,  at  the  last  trump ;  for  the  trumpet  shall  sound, 
and  the  dead  shall  be  raised  incorruptible,  and  we 
shall  be  changed."  Amidst  these  scenes  of  miracu- 
lous transition,  there  shall  be  "  no  more  sea,"  and 
"  Time  shall  be  no  longer." 

Help  us  all,  heavenly  Father,  to  be  prepared  for 
21  Q 


242  THE    ATLANTIC     CABLE. 

these  great  events  of  immortality !  And  may  our 
beloved  land,  with  its  banner  of  stars  as  an  ensign 
among  the  nations,  be  among  the  foremost  to  promote 
the  glory  of  the  latter-day,  and  to  utter  with  its  tele- 
graphs and  its  voices,  "  the  kingdoms  of  this  world 
have  become  the  kingdom  of  our  Lord,  and  of  his 
Christ ;  and  he  shall  reign  forever  and  ever ! " 


PRESBYTERIAN    VIEWS 


SLAVEHOLDING. 


(243) 


The  Letters  and  Rejoinders  on  Shareholding,  contained  in  thi> 
Scries,  were  called  forth  by  the  letters  of  Rev.  Dr.  Armstrong,  of 
Virginia. 

Dr.  Armstrong's  letters  can  h*>  found  in  the  "Presbyterian  Maga- 
zine" for  1858. 


244 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS. 


SLAVE  HOLDING. 

IN  REPLY  TO  GEORGE  D.  ARMSTRONG,  D.  D.,  OF  VIRGINIA. 


I.  On  the  Scriptural  Doctrine  of  Slaveholding page  241 

IT.   On  Emancipation  and  the  Church 276 

III.  On  the  Historical  Argument  for  Slaveholding 30B 

IV.  On  the  Scriptural  Doctrine  of  Slaveholding 330 

Y.   On  Emancipation  and  the  Church  ;    the  Schemes  of 

Emancipation;  African  Colonization,  etc 351» 


(245 


ARTICLE   I. 

ON  THE  SCRIPTURAL  DOCTRINE  OF  SLAVEHOLDING. 

To  the  Rev.  George  D.  Armstrong,  D.D. : 

Your  three  Letters  on  Slavery  have  been  read  by 
me  with  great  interest.  They  cover  ground,  not  often 
distinctly  included  in  the  field  of  discussion,  and  they 
exhibit  diversities  of  sentiment  which  rightly  claim 
a  candid  consideration. 

The  appellation  of  a  "  Conservative,"  which  you 
have  been  pleased  to  apply  to  me,  gives  me  satisfac- 
tion. I  have  always  professed  to  be  "  conservative  " 
on  this  exciting  subject;  repudiating,  on  the  one 
hand,  the  fundamental  principle  of  fanatical  aboli- 
tionism, which  makes  slaveholding  always  and  every- 
where sinful,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  rejecting  with 
equal  conscientiousness  the  ultra  defences  of  slavery, 
which  constitute  it  a  Divine  ordinance,  in  the  sense 
that  civil  government  is  "  ordained  of  God,"  and 
which  claim  for  it  an  undefined  permanence.1 

1  I  am  a  little  surprised  that,  in  the  popular  classification  of 
"Abolitionist,  Conservative,  and  Pro-slavery  man,"  you  so  qui- 
etly assume  the  appellation  of  the  latter.  Whether  I  admit  the 
propriety  of  your  proposed  designation  of  "  Philosophical,  Phi- 
losophico-Scriptural,  and  Scriptural,"  you  will  better  understand 
after  you  have  read  my  letters.  The  only  true  division  is  Scrip- 
tural and  Unscriptural. 

(247) 


248  PRESBYTERIAN     VIEWS 

I  follow  your  example  in  making  a  few  preliminary 
remarks. 

1.  Some  of  our  mutual  friends,  who  are  fearful  of 
the  agitation  of  slavery  in  our  Church,  have  advised 
me  not  to  reply  to  your  letters.  But  if  any  danger 
was  to  be  apprehended,  the  alarm  ought  to  have  been 
sounded  before  so  much  had  been  written  from  the 
other  side  of  the  line.  It  is  quite  probable  that  a 
brief  notice  of  my  brief  review  would  have  been 
allowed  to  pass  without  any  answer.  My  position, 
however,  is  very  much  changed,  after  three  long  let- 
ters, containing  an  elaborate  and  skilful  attack  on  the 
conservative  views  prevalent  in  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  have  been  extensively  circulated.  I  am  glad 
that  you  concur  with  me  in  the  opinion  that  the  dis- 
cussion of  the  points  at  issue  between  us  "  cannot 
involve  any  agitation  of  the  Church." 

2.  The  whole  truth  pertaining  to  this  subject  is  of 
the  utmost  consequence.  Slavery  is  among  the  pro- 
minent practical  questions  of  the  age.  The  destiny 
of  several  millions  of  human  beings  is  more  or  less 
affected  by  the  views  of  ministers  and  others,  who, 
like  yourself,  possess  an  extensive  influence  in  the 
formation  of  public  opinion.  I  cannot  shrink  from 
any  lawful  responsibility  in  candidly  and  boldly 
maintaining  what  I  conceive  to  be  the  true  philosophy 
and  morals  of  slavery,  as  set  forth  in  the  Scriptures, 
and  in  the  testimonies  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 


ON    SLAVEHOLDING.  249 

No  servant  of  Christ  should  exhibit  a  false  timidity 
when  providentially  challenged  to  defend  the  right. 

3.  Your  candour  and  courtesy  are  models  for  my 
imitation.  We  undoubtedly  entertain  sentiments  in 
regard  to  slavery,  coincident  in  the  main,  but  varying 
in  importance  according  to  the  standpoint  of  different 
readers.  Neither  of  us  is  a  prejudiced  partisan.  Like 
yourself,  although  born  at  the  North,  I  have  lived  at 
the  South,  and  have  learned,  both  there  and  here,  to 
sympathize  with  my  brethren  who  are  involved  in 
the  evils  of  this  perplexing  social  system.  In  Vir- 
ginia I  completed  my  theological  education,  was  li- 
censed and  ordained  by  "the  laying  on  of  the  hands 
of  the  Presbyter}'"  of  West  Hanover,  and  com- 
menced my  ministry  as  a  missionary  to  the  slaves 
on  the  plantations  of  the  Roanoke  and  Dan  Rivers. 
These  personalities  are  mentioned  to  show  that  we 
are,  in  some  respects  at  least,  on  a  level  in  this  dis- 
cussion. It  is  better  for  ministers  of  the  same  Church, 
who  mutually  appreciate  each  other's  objects  and 
position,  and  who  endeavour  candidly  to  arrive  at 
the  truth,  to  hold  a  Christian  correspondence  on 
slavery,  than  for  boisterous  and  uncharitable  parti- 
sans to  break  lances  for  victory  in  a  crowd  of  excited 
spectators.  The  present  opportunity  is  a  good  one 
for  mutual  explanations,  which  may  possibly  produce 
a  nearer  approximation  to  agreement  than  is  indi- 


250  PRESBYTERIAN    VIEWS 

cated  by  the  line  of  separation  marked  out  by  some 
of  your  arguments. 

4.  The  discussion  embraces  the  whole  subject  of 
slavery,  and  not  merely  the  points  which  might  by 
some  be  placed  within  the  limits  of  Church  authority. 
According  to  your  judgment,  "  the  points  on  which 
we  differ  He  entirely  outside  of  the  proper  range  of 
ecclesiastical  action."  I  shall  hereafter  express  my 
views  in  regard  to  this  particular  opinion,  contenting 
myself,  for  the  present,  with  the  simple  affirmation, 
that  I  write  with  all  the  light  I  can  obtain  from  the 
Bible,  and  with  whatever  illumination  the  Spirit  of 
God  may  graciously  grant.  Without  discussing  at 
present  the  precise  range  of  ecclesiastical  action,  I 
shall  endeavor  to  seek  "the  truth,  the  whole  truth, 
and  nothing  but  the  truth." 

5.  The  general  form  of  a  discussion  depends  upon 
the  positions  of  those  who  engage  in  it.  When  I 
discussed  the  subject  of  slavery  in  1835,  my  object 
was  to  examine  and  expose  the  two  fundamental 
principles  of  ultra  abolitionism :  viz.,  that  slavehold- 
ing  is  always  and  everywhere  sinful,  and  that  eman- 
cipation is  an  immediate  and  universal  duty.  On  the 
present  occasion,  I  am  called  upon  to  defend  the  scrip- 
tural doctrine  against  arguments  which  seem  to  ad- 
vocate (in  a  comparatively  mild  form)  ultra  pro- 
slavery  views.  The  Bible,  as  well  as  the  Presbyte- 
rian testimony  founded  upon  it,  points  to  a  clear,  deep 


ON    SLAVEHOLDING.  251 

channel  between  these  two  dangerous  passes.  The 
Assembly's  testimonies  of  1818  and  1845,  I  regard 
as  scriptural,  harmonious,  and,  for  the  present  at 
least,  sufficient ;  occupying,  as  they  do,  the  true  posi- 
tion between  two  extremes,  and  vindicating  the 
opinions  of  those  whom  you  rightly  call  "conserv- 
atives." 

I  now  proceed  to  the  subject  of  your  first  Letter, 

viz.,  THE  PROPER  STATEMENT  OF  THE  SCRIPTURAL  DOG- 
TRINE    OF    SLAVERY. 

Your  statement  is  :  "  Slaveholding  is  not  a  sin  in  the 
sight  of  God,  and  is  not  to  be  accounted  an  offence  by 
Ids   Church^ 

My  statement  is  :  "  Slaveholding l  is  not  necessarily 
and  in  all  circumstances  sinful" 

My  statement  was  written  currente  calamo,  without 
any  intention  to  propound  an  exact  formula  of  the 
scriptural  doctrine.  Some  might  prefer  to  either 
statement  one  in  these  words :  "  Slaveholding,  in 
itself  considered,  is  not  sinful,"  or  "All  slaveholding 
is  not  sinful;"  or  "  There  is  a  slaveholding,  which  is 
consistent  with  the  Christian  profession."  I  adhere, 
however,  to  what  I  have  written ;  because,  whilst  my 
original  form  of  statement  includes  the  lawfulness  of 
the  relation,  in  itself  considered,  it  also  more  clearly 
expresses  the  idea  that  circumstances  may  render  the 

1  I  have  substituted  "slaveholding"  for  "slavery,"  iu  order  to 
remove  all  ambiguity  in  the  terms. 


252  PRESBYTERIAN     VIEWS 

continuance  of  the  relation  wrong.  It 'brings  out,  in 
my  judgment,  more  scriptural  truth  on  the  subject 
than  any  of  the  forms  mentioned,  and  especially  than 
yours. 

All  admit  that  slavery,  in  a  worse  form  than  that 
which  now  exists  in  this  country,  prevailed  through- 
out the  Roman  empire.  As  a  system  in  actual  opera- 
tion, with  its  cruel  laws  and  usages,  the  Apostles 
could  have  no  more  approved  it  than  they  did  the 
despotism  of  Nero.  And  yet  they  nowhere  con- 
demned the  relation  itself  as  necessarily  sinful.  Des- 
potism maintains  a  relation  to  civil  government  an- 
alogous to  that  which  slaveholding  sustains  to  the 
household.  Absolute  authority  may  exist  in  both 
relations,  under  certain  circumstances,  without  sin. 
The  inspired  writers  uniformly  treat  both  despotism 
and  slaveholding  as  forms  of  society  which  circui n- 
stances  might  justify. 

The  Bible  contains  no  formal  statement  of  the  doc- 
trine of  slavery,  but  enforces  the  duties  growing  out 
of  the  relation.  A  correct  statement  of  the  scrip- 
tural mode  of  treating  slavery  might  be  in  these 
words  :  "All  masters  and  all  slaves  are  bound  to  per- 
form their  relative  duties,  arising  from  legal  authority 
on  the  one  hand,  and  from  enjoined  submission  on 
the  other."  You  had,  undoubtedly,  the  right  to  ex- 
hibit the  doctrine  of  slaveholding  in  the  more  abstract 
form,  propounded  in  your  volume.     But,  I  think  that 


ON     SLAVEHOLDING.  253 

the  reader  of  your  volume  and  letters  does  not  re- 
eeive  the  full  impression  of  scripture  truth  and  ex- 
hortation, properly  pertaining  to  this  subject.  Your 
unqualified  statement  that  "  slaveholding  is  not  a  sin 
in  the  sight  of  God,"  seems  to  me  to  fall  short  of  a 
perfect  formula,  even  from  "the  admitted,  scriptural 
premises"  adduced,  and  by  me  cordially  acquiesced 
in.  I  submit  a  brief  commentary  on  these  "  ad- 
mitted, scriptural  premises,"  by  way  of  developing 
the  argument.  1.  If  "  slaveholding  does  not  appear 
in  any  catalogue  of  sins,"  this  fact  proves  that  it  is 
not  malum  in  se.  It  is  also  deserving  of  notice  that 
slaveholding  does  not  appear  in  any  enumeration  of 
virtues  and  graces.  2.  The  Apostles  received  slave- 
holders to  the  communion,  and  so  they  did  despots 
and  their  abettors  in  Caesar's  household.  3.  Paul 
sent  back  a  fugitive  slave,  and  would  also  have  sent 
back  a  deserter  from  the  imperial  army.  4.  The  in- 
junction to  slaves  to  obey  their  masters  does  not 
approve  of  slavery,  any  more  than  the  command  to 
submit  to  "  the  powers  that  be,"  implied  approbation 
of  Nero's  despotism.  5.  The  distinctions  of  slavery 
in  regard  to  the  interests  of  Christian  life  are,  like  all 
other  outward  distinctions,  of  comparatively  little 
importance ;  and  yet  the  general  injunction  of  Paul 
on  this  subject  was :  "Art  thou  called,  being  a  slave  ? 
care  not  for  it.  But  if  thou  mayst  be  free,  iise  it 
rather."  6.  The  Christian  doctrine  of  Paul  respect- 
22 


254  PRESBYTERIAN     VIEWS 

ing  the  mutual  duties  of  masters  and  servants  is 
clearly  wholesome,  and  utterly  subversive  of  modern 
abolitionism ;  but  whilst  it  proves  that  the  relation  is 
not  in  itself  sinful,  it  does  not  sanction  the  relation 
as  a  desirable  and  permanent  one.  7.  Christian  min- 
isters, who  preach  to  the  slaves  insurrection,  instead 
of  submission,  and  who  denounce  slaveholding  as  ne- 
cessarily and  always  sinful,  are  on  unscriptural  and 
dangerous  ground. 

In  my  judgment,  your  "  admitted  scriptural  pre- 
mises" do  not  warrant  the  unqualified  statement  of 
doctrine  which  you  have  laid  down.  My  commen- 
tary is  simply  designed  as  a  rebutter  to  your  too  broad 
conclusions. 

Slaveholding,  in  itself  considered,  is  not  sinful; 
that  is  to  say,  it  is  not  a  malum  in  se;  or,  in  other 
words,  it  is  a  relation  that  may  be  justified  by  circum- 
stances. When  we  say  that  the  relation  itself  is  not 
sinful,  we  do  not  mean,  by  the  expression,  a  mere  ab- 
straction; for  slavery  cannot  be  conceived  of  apart 
from  a  master  and  a  slave.  But  we  mean  that  slave- 
holding,  as  a  practical  relation,  depends  upon  certain 
conditions  for  its  justification.  What  is  malum  in  se 
cannot  be  justified  by  any  circumstances ;  the  law  of 
God  always  condemns  it.  But  slaveholding  being 
among  things  "indifferent"  in  morals,  it  may  be  right 
or  wrong,  according  to  the  conditions  of  its  existence. 


ON    SLA  VEHOLDING.  255 

Hence  your  definition,  which  excludes  circumstances, 
comes  short  of  the  full  Scripture  doctrine. 

Three  sources  of  your  defective  statement,  as  it 
appears  to  me,  deserve  consideration. 

1.  You  have  erred  in  placing  the  relation  of  mas- 
ter and  slave  on  the  same  basis  with  that  of  parent 
and  child.  Your  illustration  assumes  too  much  on 
this  point.  There  are  specific  and  fundamental  dif- 
ferences between  these  two  relations.  The  marriage 
relation  is  divinely  constituted ;  it  existed  anterior  to 
sin ;  it  is  normal  in  its  character  and  permanent  in 
duration ;  and  it  is  honourable  in  all.  Whereas  the 
relation  of  master  and  slave  cannot  be  said  to  be  more 
than  providentially  permitted  or  sanctioned ;  it  origi- 
nated, as  you  admit,  by  the  wickedness  of  "man- 
stealing,"  and  by  a  violation  of  the  laws  of  God ;  it 
implies  an  abnormal  condition  of  things,  and  is  there- 
fore temporary ;  and  it  must  be  acknowledged,  that 
it  is  in  discredit  generally  throughout  Christendom. 
The  two  relations  are  quite  distinct  in  their  nature. 
That  of  master  and  slave  is  not,  indeed,  in  itself,  sin- 
ful ;  but  it  cannot  be  looked  upon  with  the  compla- 
cency with  which  the  parental  relation  is  contem- 
plated. The  parental  relation  and  slaveholding,  pos- 
sess, of  course,  some  affinities.  They  may  fall  into 
the  same  category,  if  the  classification  be  made  wide 
enough ;  for  both  belong  to  the  social  state,  and  have 
relative  duties.     Or,  if  the  classification  be  made  even 


P  R  E  S  B  Y  T  E  l;  I  A  N     VIE  W  S 

narrower,  they  may  still  be  arranged  under  the  same 
category,  for  both  imply  the  possession  of  absolute 
power.  But,  if  the  classification  be  into  natural  rela- 
tions, and  those  relations  which  arise  from  circum- 
stances, then  marriage  goes  into  the  former  category, 
and  slavery  into  the  latter.  It  is  only  within  a  cer- 
tain compass,  therefore,  that  we  can  reason  from  one 
to  the  other,  without  danger  of  pernicious  fallacies. 

2.  In  the  second  place,  your  unqualified  proposi- 
tion that  "  slaveholding  is  not  sinful,"  mistakes  the 
scriptural  view  by  implying  its  lawfulness  everywhere 
,ind  under  all  drcumstahces.  The  relation  of  master 
and  slave  may  be  lawful  in  Virginia  at  the  present 
time.  But  is  it  lawful  in  New  Jersey,  or  in  New 
England  ?  And  will  it  always  be  lawful  in  Virginia  ? 
I  apprehend  not.  The  good  of  the  slave  and  of  the 
community  is  the  great  law  controlling  the  existence 
of  the  relation.  If  a  slaveholder  were  to  remove  from 
Virginia  into  New  Jersey,  your  proposition  loses  all 
its  virtue,  and  collapses  into  error.  Slaveholding  is 
sinful  by  the  laws  of  that  State ;  and  even  if  there 
were  no  law  prohibiting  its  existence  on  the  statute- 
book,  could  the  citizens  of  New  Jersey  become  slave- 
holders under  the  plea  that  "  slaveholding  is  not  a  sin 
in  the  sight  of  God  ?"  Again,  is  it  clear,  that  citizens 
in  the  Free  States  can  always  lawfully  enter  into  this 
relation,  when  they  remove  into  States  where  the 
laws  sanction  it  ?     Under  the  shelter  of  your  propo- 


ON     SLAVEHOLDIXG.  257 

sition,  they  might  do  so;  but  it  is  certain,  that  there 
are  tens  of  thousands  of  Christians  in  the  Free  States. 
who  could  not  enter  voluntarily  into  this  relation 
without  involving  their  consciences  in  sin.  Slavery, 
even  in  the  Slave  States,  where  it  may  lawfully  exist 
at  the  present  time,  is  abnormal  and  exceptional,  and 
is  to  be  justified  only  by  circumstances.  This  your 
definition  overlooks. 

3:  In  the  third  place,  your  statement  passes  by  the 
testimony  of  the  Old  Testament  dispensation.  Moses 
found  slavery  an  institution  in  existence,  and  treated 
it  as  an  admitted  evil.  Tolerating  it  under  the  pecu- 
liar condition  of  society,  the  laws  of  the  Hebrew 
Commonwealth  were  framed  with  a  view  to  mitigate 
its  evils,  to  restrict  its  limits,  and  finally  to  discounte- 
nance it  altogether.  The  distinction  between  the 
lawfulness  of  enslaving  Israelites  and  Gentiles,  with 
various  other  discriminating  regulations,  shows  that 
Moses  took  circumstances  into  view  in  his  legislation 
on  this  subject.  Even  under  the  Jewish  dispensation, 
your  statements  would  not  have  been,  received  as  a 
full  and  definite  exposition  of  the  true  doctrine  of 
slavery.  My  original  statement,  that  "  slaveholding 
is  not  necessarily  and  under  all  circumstances  sinful," 
accords  better,  both  with  the  letter  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment dispensation,  and  the  spirit  of  the  New.  than 
does  yours. 

What  I  especially  insist  upon,  in  a  scriptural  state- 
22*  R 


258  PRESBYTERIAN     VIEWS 

ment  of  the  doctrine  of  slavery  is,  that  the  relation 
itself  shall  not  be  confounded  with  the  injustice  of 
slave  laws  on  the  one  hand,  nor  separated,  on  the 
other  hand,  from  the  providential  circumstances  or 
condition  of  society,  where  it  claims  a  lawful  ex- 
istence. 

If  you  therefore  ask,  generally,  why,  in  my  state- 
ment, I  qualify  the  relation  by  the  words  "not  neces- 
sarily and  in  all  circumstances  sinful,"  I  reply,  that 
the  possession  of  despotic  power  is  a  thing  to  be  justi- 
fied, and  for  which  a  good  reason  is  always  to  be 
given.  Marriage  is  to  continue  as  long  as  the  race, 
and  is  in  its  own  nature  everywhere  lawful.  Not  so 
with  slavery.  You,  yourself,  contend  in  your  book, 
that  it  was  originally  wrong,  and  that  the  men- 
stealers  in  Africa,  and,  inferentially,  the.  slave-buyers 
in  America,  of  that  generation,  sinned  against  God  by 
their  mutual  traffic  in  flesh  and  blood.  Slavery  does 
not,  like  marriage,  arise  from  the  nature  of  man.  It 
exists  only  from  the  peculiar  condition  of  the  slave 
class.  And,  therefore,  a  scriptural  statement  must 
not  ignore  a  reference  to  providential  developments ; 
and  it  is  right  to  characterize  the  relation  by  words 
which  qualify  its  lawfulness. 

Again.  If  you  ask  how  circumstances  can  make 
a  relation  sinful,  which,  in  itself,  may  be  lawful,  I 


ON     SLAVEHOLDING.  25f> 

reply,  that  circumstances  always  control  the  moral 
character  of  those  relations  and  actions,  which  belong  in 
morals  to  things  "  indifferent,"  or  the  adiaphora.  Some 
things,  like  idolatry  and  manstealing,  are  mala  in  sc, 
and  can  be  justified  by  no  circumstances  whatever. 
Other  things,  like  polygamy,  were  tolerated  under 
the  old  Testament  dispensation,  but  not  under  the 
New.  Other  things,  as  slavery,  were  tolerated  under 
both  dispensations ;  but  neither  under  the  Old  nor 
the  New  dispensation  was  slavery  recognized  as  law- 
ful, apart  from  the  circumstances  of  its  origin  and  the 
attending  conditions.  The  circumstances,  in  the  midst 
of  which  slaveholding  §nds  itself,  will  always  be  an 
element  to  enter  into  its  justification,  or  condemna- 
tion, at  the  bar  of  righteousness. 

Again.  If  you  press  me  still  closer,  and  ask  more 
particularly,  how  the  qualifying  and  restrictive  lan- 
guage employed  by  me,  is  consistent  with  the  lan- 
guage of  Scripture  in  regard  to  the  duties  of  masters 
and  slaves, — which  many  interpret  as  giving  full  and 
universal  sanction  to  the  system  of  slaveholding,  — 
I  reply,  first,  that  the  mere  injunction  of  relative 
duties,  as  has  been  already  intimated,  does  not  imply 
full  approbation  of  a  relation,  which  circumstances 
may  for  a  time  render  lawful,  and  the  duties  of  which 
require  clear  specification.  The  general  duty  of  sub- 
mission to  the  established  government,  does  not  prove 


260  PRESBYTERIAN     VIEWS 

that  all  despots  are  sinless  in  obtaining  and  in  retain- 
ing their  absolute  power.  Servants  are  required  to 
be  subject  not  only  to  good  and  gentle,  but  to  froward 
masters,  who  make  them  suffer  wrongfully.  (1  Peter 
2  :  18,  19.)  This,  however,  does  not  make  such  fro- 
wardness  and  cruelty,  on  the  part  of  the  master,  sin- 
less. And,  generally,  the  meekness  with  which  we 
are  required  to  bear  insult  and  injury,  does  not  jus- 
tify those  wrongs.  Doddridge  says  :  "  I  should  think 
it  unlawful  to  resist  the  most  unjust  power  that  could 
be  imagined,  if  there  was  a  probability  of  doing  mis- 
chief by  it."  But  this  cannot  make  what  is  wrong 
and  pernicious  in  any  particular  form  or  circumstances, 
sacred,  divine,  and  immutable.  Polygamy,  which 
wras  tolerated  under  the  Old  Testament,  under  certain 
conditions,  was  a  relation  of  mutual  rights  and  obli- 
gations ;  but  was  polygamy,  therefore,  on  a  level  with 
the  marriage  relation,  and  was  it  an  institution  that 
could  be  perpetuated  without  sin  ?  Certainly  not. 
Nor  does  the  exhortation  to  masters  and  servants 
imply  anything  more  than  that  the  prescribed  rela- 
tive duties  are  to  be  discharged  as  long  as  the  relation 
may  be  lawfully  continued.  Secondly,  the  duties  of 
submission,  heart-service,  etc.,  on  the  part  of  the 
slaves,  and  the  corresponding  duties  of  the  masters, 
belong  to  my  statement  as  much  as  they  do  to  yours. 
The  performance  of  these  mutual  duties  is  essential 
to  the  solution  of  the  problem  of  slavery,  and  to  the 


ON     SLAVEHOLDING.  261 

inauguration  of  the  new  circumstances  which  may 
make  its  continuance  a  wrong.  Thirdly,  slaveholding 
not  being  a  malum  in  se,  no  scriptural  exhortation 
against  the  relation  under  all  circumstances,  would 
have  been  consistent  with  truth  and  righteousness. 
Hence,  neither  despotism  nor  slaveholding  receives 
from  the  Scriptures  the  undiscriminating  anathemas 
hurled  by  modern  fanatics.  Their  temporary  justifi- 
cation depends  on  circumstances  of  which  the  rulers 
and  masters  of  each  generation  must  judge,  as  in  sight 
of  the  Ruler  and  Master  in  heaven.  Fourthly,  The 
general  spirit  of  the  doctrines  and  precepts  of  the 
Bible  operates  unequivocally  and  decidedly  against 
the  permanence  of  slavery  in  the  household,  or  of 
despotism  in  the  State.  An  emphatic  testimony  is 
rendered  on  the  pages  of  revelation  against  these  re- 
lations, whose  origin  is  in  human  sins  and  woes,  and 
whose  continuance  is  justified  only  by  the  public  good. 
Instead  of  precise  rules,  which  the  wisdom  of  God 
has  not  prescribed  for  the  eradication  of  all  the  evils 
of  society,  the  Gospel  substitutes  sublime  and  hearts 
moving  principles,  which  make  the  Christian  "  a  law 
unto  himself,"  and  transform,  through  the  Spirit, 
human  nature  into  the  image  of  the  divine. 

After  all,  we  both  agree  in  the  fundamental  posi- 
tion that  slavery  may  exist  without  sin ;  that  the 
relation,   in   itself  considered,    is   not   sinful.     You 


262  PRESBYTERIAN     VIEWS 

prefer  your  statement  of  the  doctrine,  and  I  prefer 
mine.  You  imagine,  in  comparing  my  statement 
with  Scripture,  that  you  discern  "  discord,"  and  catch 
the  sound  of  "  quavering  notes ;"  whilst,  to  my  ears, 
your  statement  sounds  like  an  old  tune  with  unplea- 
sant alterations,  and  withal,  set  on  so  high  a  key  as 
to  endanger  falsetto  in  unskilful  voices.  It  is  my 
honest  conviction  that  my  formula  approaches  the 
nearest  to  the  true  doctrine  of  Scripture. 

The  correctness  of  my  form  of  statement  is,  I  think, 
confirmed  by  several  considerations. 

In  the  first  place,  this  mode  of  stating  the  scriptural 
doctrine  of  slavery  coincides  with  the  testimonies  of  tlie 
Presbyterian  Church. 

The  General  Assembly  of  1818  uses  the  following 
language : 

"We  do,  indeed,  tenderly  sympathize  with  those  portions  of 
our  Church  and  our  country  where  the  evil  of  slavery  has  been 
entailed  ;  where  a  great,  and  the  most  virtuous,  part  of  the  com- 
munity, abhor  slavery,  and  wish  its  extermination  as  sincerely  as 
any  others  ;  but  where  the  number  of  slaves,  their  ignorance,  and 
their  vicious  habits  generally,  render  an  immediate  and  universal 
emancipation  inconsistent  alike  with  the  safety  and  hapjriness  of 
the  master  and  slave.  With  those  who  are  thus  circumstanced, 
we  repeat  that  we  .tenderly  sympathize.  At  the  same  time,  we 
earnestly  exhort  them  to  continue,  and,  if  possible,  to  increa;>e 
their  exertions  to  effect  a  total  abolition  of  slavery.  We  exhort 
them  to  suffer  no  greater  delay  to  take  place  in  this  most  inte- 
resting concern,  than  a  regard  to  the  public  welfare  truly  and 
indispensably  demands." 


ON     SLAYEHOLDING.  26o 

Here,  it  will  be  seen,  the  doctrine  of  our  Assembly 
is,  that  circumstances  control  the  continuance  of 
slavery.  This  relation  is  justifiable,  or  otherwise,  ac- 
cording as  "  the  happiness  of  the  master  and  slave " 
and  "  the  public  welfare  "  are  promoted  by  it. 

The  paper  adopted  by  the  General  Assembly  in 
1845,  by  a  vote  of  168  to  13,  assumes  the  same  prin- 
ciple, and  substantially  adopts  the  form  of  my  origi- 
nal statement.     It  says : 

"The  question,  which  is  now  unhappily  agitating  and  dividing 
other  branches  of  the  Church,  is  whether  the  holding  of  slaves 
is.  under  all  circumstances,  a  heinous  sin,  calling  for  the  disci- 
pline of  the  Church."  p.  812.  "The  question,  which  this  As- 
sembly is  called  upon  to  decide  is  this  :  Do  the  Sci'iptures  teach 
that  the  holding  of  slaves,  without  regard  to  circumstances,  is  a 
sin  ?»  p.  812. 

You  perceive  that  the  question  is  stated  in  words 
which  resemble  very  much  the  words  of  a  "  Conser- 
vative."    Further : 

"  The  Apostles  did  not  denounce  the  relation  itself  as  sinful." 
•  The  Assembly  cannot  denounce  the  holding  of  slaves  as  neces- 
sarily a  heinous  and  scandalous  sin."  p.  812.  "The  existence 
of  domestic  slavery,  under  the  circumstances  in  which  it  is  found 
iu  the  southern  portion  of  the  country,  is  no  bar  to  Christian 
communion."  p.  813. 

Whilst  my  statement  of  the  doctrine  of  slavery 
coincides  with  the  utterances  of  the  Church,  many 
will  think  that  yours  comes  far  short  of  it.  What- 
ever added  explanations  may  cause  it  to  approximate 
to  the  language  of  the  General  Assembly,  the  naked 


264  PRESBYTERIAN     VIEWS 

words  are  as  dissimilar,  as  a  leafless  tree  is  from  one 
of  living  green. 

As  yon  frequently  quote  Dr.  Hodge,  I  also  will  take 
the  liberty  of  exhibiting  the  opinions  of  the  distin- 
tinguished  Professor,  in  their  true  connection  with 
the  point  at  issue.  I  ask  your  particular  attention 
to  these  extracts  from  the  Biblical  Repertory,  which 
might  be  extended,  if  necessary  : 

"An  equally  obvious  deduction  [from  the  Scriptures]  is,  that 
slaveholding  is  not  necessarily  sinful."1  1836,  p.  277. 

"Both  political  despotism  and  domestic  slavery  belong  in 
morals  to  the  adiaphora,  to  things  indifferent.  They  may  be 
expedient  or  inexpedient,  right  or  wrong,  according  to  circum- 
stances. Belonging  to  the  same  class,  they  should  be  treated  in 
the  same  way.  Neither  is  to  be  denounced  as  necessarily  sinful, 
and  to  be  abolished  immediately  under  all  circumstances." 
p.  286. 

"  Slavery  is  a  question  of  circumstances,  and  not  a  malum  in 
se."  "  Simply  to  prove  that  slaveholding  interferes  with  natural 
rights,  is  not  enough  to  justify  the  conclusion  that  it  is  neces- 
sarily and  universally  sinful.1,1  p.  292. 

"These  forms  of  society  [despotism,  slavery,  etc.],  are  not  ne- 
cessarily, or  in  themselves,  just  or  unjust;  but  become  one  or  the 
other  according  to  circumstances.'1''  p.  295. 

"  Monarchy,  aristocracy,  democracy,  domestic  slavery,  are  right 
or  wrong,  as  they  are,  for  the  time  being,  conducive  to  this  great 
end  [intellectual  and  moral  elevation]  or  the  reverse."  p.  302. 

"  We  have  ever  maintained  that  slaveholding  is  not  in  itself 
sinful;  that  the  right  to  personal  liberty  is  conditioned  by  the 
ability  to  exercise  beneficially  that  right."  1849,  p.  601. 

"Nothing  can  be  more  distinct  than  the  right  to  hold  slaves 
in  certain  circumstances,  and  the  right  to  render  slavery  per- 
petual." p.  603. 


ON     SLAVEHOLDING.  265 

These  quotations  prove  that  Dr.  Hodge  unites  with 
the  great  body  of  our  Church,  north  and  south,  east 
and  west,  in  limiting  the  lawfulness  of  slaveholding 
by  the  very  terms  of  its  formal  definition,  at  the  same 
time  that  he  earnestly  contends,  with  all  who  are  on 
scriptural  ground,  that  the  relation,  in  itself  con- 
sidered, is  not  sinful.  The  "  conservatives  "  of  the 
Church  everywhere  uphold  all  the  testimonies  of  the 
General  Assembly,  in  their  true  spirit  and  very  letter. 

Another  consideration,  confirming  the  belief  that 

my  statement  is  the  better  of  the  two,  is  that  it  is 

more  philosophical  in  its  form.     The  conditions  of  an 

ethical  proposition  relating  to  slavery,  as  furnished  by 

yourself,  are  threefold.     1.  The  proposition  must  be 

in  the  usual  form  of  ethical  propositions.     2.  It  must 

be  so  expressed  as  to  require  no  explanations.     3.  It 

should  cover  all  the  ground  which  Christianity  covers. 

1.  The  usual  form  of  ethical  propositions  in  regard 

to  the  adiaphora,  or  things   indifferent,  includes    a 

reference  to  circumstances.    Whether  the  proposition 

be  expressed  in  a  positive  or  negative  form,  is  not  of 

much  account,  provided  the  meaning  be  clear.    Your 

own  statement  is  a  negative  one ;  but  the  difficulty 

is  that  its  meaning  is  not  plain.  If  the  word  despotism, 

or  war,  be  substituted  for  slavery  in  our  respective 

statements,  I  think  you  will  see  at  once  that  your 

statement  does  not  express  the  true  idea,  so  well  as 

23 


266  PRESBYTERIAN     VIEWS 

mine.  The  proposition  that  "  despotism,  or  war.  is 
not  a  sin  in  the  sight  of  God/'  is  not  a  true  ethical 
proposition.  Because,  like  slavery,  despotism  and 
war  seek  their  justification  in  circumstances.  Cir- 
cumstances cannot  he  omitted  from  a  philosophical 
proposition  on  "  things  indifferent." 

Your  objection  to  my  statement  appears  to  be  that 
it  does  not  clearly  admit  the  morality  of  slavehold- 
ing,  but  that  it  acquits  the  master  with  a  sort  of 
;'  whip  and  clear  him"  judgment.  This  latter  expres- 
sion, if  I  understand  it,  means  "  strike  first,  and  then 
acquit."  Very  far  from  such  a  rude  proceeding  is  the 
intention,  or  tendency,  of  my  argument.  The  force 
of  it  is  simply  to  put  the  slaveholder  in  a  position 
which  demands  him  to  justify  himself  before  God, 
which  every  Christian  ought  always  to  be  ready  to 
do.  I  explicitly  maintain  that  the  relation  may  be 
a  lawful  one,  and  that  the  Christian  performance  of 
its  duties  often  brings  peculiar  honour  upon  the  slave- 
holder, and  calls  into  exercise  some  of  the  most 
shining  graces  of  the  Gospel.  But  slaveholding,  al- 
though not  malum  in  se,  is  not  a  natural  and  perma- 
nent phase  of  civilization.  Like  despotism  or  war,  it 
is  to  be  justified,  or  condemned,  by  the  condition  of 
things  and  the  necessities  of  the  case.  It  does  not, 
in  itself,  imply  an  unchristian  spirit,  or  unchristian 
conduct;  and  hence  our  Church  has  always  refused 
to  recognize  it  as  under  all  circumstances  an  "  offence" 


ON     SLAVEHOLDING.  267 

and  "  a  bar  to  Christian  communion."  My  proposi- 
tion throws  no  suspicion,  or  reproach,  upon  any  one 
who  is  in  a  true  and  justifiable  position ;  and  the  very 
fact  that  it  includes  circumstances  as  an  element  in 
the  solution  of  its  morality,  proves  it  to  be  philoso- 
phically sound. 

2.  If  the  proposition,  in  order  to  be  correctly  stated, 
must  require  no  explanations,  I  think  that  my  form 
has  considerable  advantage  over  yours.  "  Slavery  is 
not  necessarily  and  in  all  circumstances  sinful"  is  a 
general  proposition,  containing,  without  the  need  of 
explanation,  the  ethical  truths  on  the  subject.  Your 
proposition,  "  Slavery  is  not  a  sin  in  the  sight  of  God," 
is  liable  at  once  to  the  doubt,  whether  it  is  intended 
to  be  a  universal  or  a  particular  proposition ;  that  is, 
whether  you  mean  to  say,  "no  slaveholding  is  sinful," 
or  only  that  "some  slaveholding  is  not  sinful."  The 
needed  explanation,  against  which  you  protest,  is 
actually  given  by  you  in  another  part  of  your  let- 
ter, where  you  say  that  your  statement  by  no  means 
"  involves  the  idea  that  all  slaveholding  is  sinless  in 
the  sight  of  God,"  or  in  other  words,  some  slavehold- 
ing is  not  a  sin.  How  this  could  be  expressed  with 
more  rigid  accuracy  than  in  my  formula  of  "  slavery 
is  not  necessarily  and  in  all  circumstances  sinful,"  it 
is  for  you  to  show.  Why  my  formula  does  not  more 
exactly  express  your  belief  than  your  own,  which 
you  would  substitute  for  it,  is  also  for  you  to  show. 


268  PRESBYTERIAN    yiEWS 

Your  statement  fails  to  endure  the  philosophical  test 
brought  forward  by  yourself.  It  must  have  explana- 
tions, before  the  reader  can  even  understand  whether 
it  is  a  universal  or  particular  proposition. 

Permit  me  to  add,  that  even  some  of  your  expla- 
nations seem  to  need  explanation.  For  example,  in 
your  illustration  about  the  despotism  of  France,  you 
say  that  this  despotism  is  "at  the  present  day,  de- 
manded by  the  general  good  of  the  French  nation," 
and  then  go  on  to  say,  that  "  the  time  may  come  when 
the  general  good  will  demand  a  different  form  of 
government  in  France."  Here  you  propound  my  doc- 
trine exactly ;  and  if  you  will  only  allow  this  expla- 
nation about  despotism  to  enter  into  your  proposition 
about  slaveholding,  it  becomes  identical  with  my  own. 
But  inasmuch  as  you  insist,  that  "  every  general  pro- 
position shall  be  so  expressed  as  to  bear  examination," 
"apart  from,  all  explanation"  you  prove  that  your 
proposition,  as  it  stands,  is  not  a  general,  but  a  par- 
ticular one,  and  that  mine  is  really  the  universal  and 
the  philosophical  proposition.  Again ;  }^our  proposi- 
tion demands  explanation,  as  a  practical  standard  of 
right  conduct  as  well  as  of  sound  philosophy.  The 
proposition,  that  "  slaveholding  is  not  a  sin,"  requires 
explanation,  if  you  apply  the  doctrine  to  the  first 
generation,  who,  as  is  generally  believed,  wrongfully 
purchased  the  slaves,  and  thus  abetted  manstealing. 
and  entailed  this  unnatural  relation  upon  succeeding 


ON     SLAVEHOLDING.  2G9 

generations.  It  requires  explanation,  if,  anywhere 
at  the  South,  the  good  of  one  or  more  slaves,  and  the 
glory  of  God,  would  be  promoted  by  their  emancipa- 
tion. It  requires  explanation  in  the  Free  States, 
where  slavery  is  prohibited  by  law,  and  where  the 
welfare  of  society  does  not  require  the  existence  of 
this  institution.  On  the  other  hand,  my  proposition 
that  "  slavery  is  not  necessarily  and  in  all  circum- 
stances sinful,"  expresses  the  truth  without  explana- 
tion." No  proposition  can  be  expected  to  define  the 
circumstances  under  which  slavery  in  every  instance 
may  be  justified  or  not.  It  is  sufficient  for  the  pur- 
poses of  a  general  statement,  to  give  slaveholding  a 
place  among  things  indifferent  (adiaphora) ,  and  to 
imply  that  it  is  not  a  permanent  institution,  based, 
like  marriage,  upon  the  law  of  God,  but  one  that 
owes  its  continuance  to  the  necessities  of  the  public 
welfare. 

3.  If  the  proposition  must  cover  all  the  ground 
covered  by  the  doctrine  of  Christ  and  his  Apostles, 
then  I  think  that  your  statement  again  suffers  in 
comparison  with  mine.  This  point  has  been  already 
discussed.  The  substance  of  the  scriptural  doctrine, 
in  my  opinion,  is  briefly  this :  First.  Slaveholding,  in 
itself  considered,  is  not  sinful ;  or,  it  is  not  a  malum 
in  se.  Secondly.  It  is  a  relation  of  mutual  rights 
and  obligations  as  long  as  it  exists.  And,  thirdly. 
The  general  spirit  and  precepts  of  the  Gospel  are 
23* 


270  PRESBYTERIAN    VIEWS 

opposed  to  its  perpetuity.  I  consider  that  my  propo- 
sition, in  this  and  in  other  respects,  meets  your  ethi- 
cal conditions  better  than  your  own. 

A  third  collateral  consideration,  in  favour  of  my 
form  of  stating  the  scriptural  doctrine  of  Slavery,  is. 
that  it  commends  itself  more  to  the  enlightened  con- 
science of  the  Christian  slaveholder. 

Christians,  whose  minds  and  hearts  are  imbued 
with  the  spirit  of  their  Lord,  cannot  regard  with 
complacency  an  institution,  whose  origin  is  in  wrong, 
and  whose  continuance  depends  upon  the  inferior  con- 
dition of  a  large  class  of  their  fellow-men.  During 
my  residence  at  the  South,  of  three  years,  I  do  not 
remember  of  hearing  any  justification  of  slavery,  ex- 
cept that  which  appealed  to  the  actual  necessities  of 
the  case.  It  was  everywhere  said  :  "  The  slaves  are 
not  fit  to  be  free ;  neither  their  own  nor  the  general 
welfare  would  be  promoted  by  immediate  emancipa- 
tion." The  lawfulness  of  continuing  the  relation 
under  such  circumstances  could  not  be  called  in 
question.  I  am  confident  that  the  enlightened  con- 
sciences of  southern  Christians,  prefer  a  definition  of 
slavery  which  includes  the  providential  aspect  of  the 
case.  No  abstract  proposition,  like  yours,  will  place 
the  vindication  of  slavery  on  high  enough  ground  to 
pacify  the  consciences  of  those  Christians  who  hold 
their  fellow-men  in  bondage. 


ON     SLAVEHOLDING.  271 

But  whilst  the  language  of  ray  statement  of  the 
doctrine  really  justifies,  with  a  high  reason,  the  law- 
fulness of  the  relation,  if  lawful  under  the  circum- 
stances, the  other  advantage  it  has  over  your  state- 
ment is  in  keeping  the  conscience  awake  to  the  obli- 
gations of  improving  the  condition  of  the  slaves,  with 
a  view  to  a  restoration  of  their  natural  rights  in  a 
more  perfect  form  of  society.  If  slavery  is  only  to  he 
justified  by  circumstances,  the  inquiry  must  press 
itself  upon  the  conscience  of  the  Christian  master, 
whether,  in  the  first  place,  the  circumstances  and 
condition  of  society  constitute  a  sufficient  plea,  in  his 
judgment,  for  his  present  position  as  a  slaveholder ; 
and  in  the  second  place,  whether  he  is  doing  all  lie 
can,  as  a  citizen  of  the  State,  and  a  member  of  the 
household  of  Christ,  to  remove  all  unjust  enactments 
from  the  statute-book,  and  to  break  down  the  barriers 
of  intellectual  and  moral  degradation,  which  are  in 
the  way  of  ultimate  emancipation.  Although  "  slavery 
is  not  necessarily  and  in  all  circumstances  sinful,"  it 
may  become  so  under  circumstances  where  the  eleva- 
tion of  the  slave  concurs  with  other  conditions  in 
rendering  his  emancipation  a  benefit. 

I  claim,  therefore,  that  my  statement  of  the  doc- 
trine of  slavery  surpasses  yours,  both  in  its  power  to 
relieve  the  conscience,  if  charged  with  the  guilt  of  the 
existing  relation,  and  in  its  power  to  alarm  the  con- 
science, if  in  danger  of  neglecting  the  whole  duties 


272  PRESBYTERIAN     VIEWS 

implied  in  the  relation.  My  knowledge  of  southern 
Christian  society  gives  me  boldness  in  placing  this 
view  of  the  subject  before  the  minds  and  hearts  and 
consciences  of  my  brethren ;  for  never  has  it  been 
my  privilege  to  be  brought  in  contact  with  purer  and 
more  devoted  servants  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  than 
are  to  be  found  in  the  Southern  States.  With  all 
deference,  and  in  all  confidence,  I  submit  to  them  the 
truthfulness  of  the  positions  taken  in  this  letter. 

There  is  still  one  more  consideration  that  gives 
scriptural  weight  to  my  form  of  stating  the  doctrine 
of  slavery,  namely,  its  practical  power  to  resist  error. 

The  fundamental  principle  of  ultra  abolitionism  is 
that  slaveholding  is  in  itself  sinful.  The  only  efficacious 
mode  of  encountering  this  fanaticism,  is  to  show  from 
the  Bible,  that  it  rests  upon  a  false  foundation.  The 
doctrines  that  abolitionism  cannot  resist,  are,  first,  that 
the  relation  itself  must  neither  be  confounded  with  the 
unjust  laws  which  define  the  system,  nor  wdth  the  inade- 
quate performance  of  the  duties  of  the  relation ;  and 
secondly,  that  slaveholding  is  not  malum  in  se,  but 
right  or  wrong  according  to  circumstances.  This 
double-edged  swrord  of  truth  will  pierce  to  the  dividing 
asunder  of  the  bones  of  rampant  abolitionism.  Indeed, 
some  of  the  distinguished  leaders  of  that  faction  have 
virtually  conceded  the  scriptural  efficiency  of  these 
positions,  and  the  great  mass  of  people  in  the  Free 


ON     SLAVEHOLDING.  278 

States  will  do  homage  to  their  truth.  The  doctrine 
that  "  slavery  is  not  necessarily  and  in  all  circum- 
stances sinful,"  is  the  contradictory  of  the  abolition 
dogma ;  and  its  establishment  in  this  very  form,  will 
most  effectally  arrest  the  encroachments  of  error,  and 
vindicate  the  cause  of  righteousness  in  a  perverse  gene- 
ration. Your  bare  statement,  however,  that  "  slave- 
holding  is  not  a  sin  in  the  sight  of  God,"  does  not 
meet  the  case ;  like  a  spent  arrow,  it  falls  short  of 
the  mark.  It  is  a  correct  statement,  to  a  certain 
extent ;  but  it  does  not  include  providential  circum- 
stances, which  necessarily  enter  into  the  morality  of 
slaveholding.  As  a  weapon  to  do  battle  with,  your 
proposition  invites  assault,  without  the  power  to 
repel.  It  lacks  the  scriptural  characteristic  of  fight- 
ing a  good  fight.  It  carries  with  it  no  available  and 
victorious  force.  It  provokes  the  conscience  of  the 
North ;  it  lulls  the  conscience  of  the  South. 

This  last  sentence  indicates  an  evil  on  the  other 
extreme.  Ultra  pro-slavery  is  as  much  to  be  depre- 
cated as  ultra  anti-slavery.  The  idea  that  slavehold- 
ing is  a  divine  ordinance,  and  that  it  may  be  lawfully 
perpetuated  to  the  end  of  time,  is  a  monstrous  doc- 
trine,— derogatory  to  the  spirit  and  principles  of  Scrip- 
ture, to  the  reason  and  conscience  of  mankind,  to  the 
universal  sway  of  Providence,  and  to  the  glory  of 
Christian  civilization.  A  distinguished  slaveholder 
of  the  South,  who  owns  several  hundred  slaves,  and 

s 


274  PRESBYTERIAN    VIEWS 

who  is  not  a  communicant  in. the  Church,  after  hear- 
ing an  ultra  pro-slavery  sermon,  came  out  of  the 
house  of  Gocl?  expressing  strong  disapprobation  of 
such  sentiments;  and,  stamping  his  foot  on  the 
ground,  declared  that  he  could  not  endure  them.  1 1»- 
added  that  his  only  justification,  before  God  and  the 
world,  for  holding  slaves,  was  in  the  necessities  of 
the  case.  The  attempt  to  fortify  slavery  by  extrava- 
gant and  unreasonable  positions  can  only  do  harm. 
Extremists  on  one  side  always  beget  extremists  on 
the  other.  Anti-slavery  at  the  North  has  been  the 
means  of  developing,  to  an  extent  before  unknown, 
ultra  pro-slavery  at  the  South.  The  institution  is 
now  claimed,  by  some,  to  be  a  divine  ordinance,  like 
marriage  or  civil  government;  African  bondage  is 
sought  to  be  justified  by  the  original  diversities  of  the 
human  race ;  and  even  the  righteousness  of  the  slave- 
trade  itself  is  now  openly  vindicated  in  this  land  of 
liberty  and  age  of  light.  One  strong  objection  to 
vour  statement  of  the  doctrine  is,  that  it  seems  to 
give  countenance  to  erroneous  and  exaggerated  views. 
It  will  be  accepted,  I  fear,  by  the  ultra  pro-slavery 
party,  as  a  good  enough  statement  to  be  inscribed 
upon  their  banners.  I  cordially  acquit  you  of  any 
intention  to  contribute  to  the  propagation  of  extreme 
opinions.  But  ought  not  a  Presbyterian  minister,  of 
your  position  and  influence,  to  be  arrayed  against 
such  sentiments,  beyond  the  possibility  of  misconcep- 


ON     SLAVE  HOLDING.  275 

tion  ?  Hitherto,  little  impression  has  been  made  on 
our  Church  by  ultraists  on  either  side.  We  at  the 
North  are  able,  with  God's  blessing,  to  maintain  the 
scriptural  ground  against  anti-slavery  fanaticism ;  and 
we  ask  our  brethren  at  the  South  to  repel  the  irrup- 
tions of  pro-slavery  fanaticism  with  equal  determina- 
tion. In  order  to  do  this  successfully,  the  South  needs 
a  more  guarded  statement  of  doctrine  than  the  one 
you  have  propounded.  That  statement  is  practically 
inefficacious  in  resisting  ultraism  on  either  side. 

For  these  various  reasons,  I  adhere  to  the  belief 
that  my  original  proposition  on  the  subject  of  slave- 
holding,  although  not,  perhaps,  as  perfect  as  might 
be.  is  substantially  correct,  and  is  more  scriptural  and 
comprehensive  than  yours. 

Yours  truly, 

C.  Van  Rensselaer. 


276  PRESBYTERIAN     VIEWS 


AETICLE  II. 

EMANCIPATION  AND  THE  CHURCH. 

To  the  Rev.  George  D.  Armstrong,  D.D. : 

I  certainly  did  not  expect,  when  I  penned  the  para- 
graph which  you  find  fault  with  in  your  second  letter, 
to  become  engaged  in  a  controversy  about "  Emancipa- 
tion and  the  Church."  My  standpoint  was  that  of 
a  private  citizen,  and  I  gave  utterance  to  a  sentiment, 
which,  I  supposed,  would  find  a  response  in  the  bosom 
of  any  Christian  slaveholder  on  his  plantation.  The 
idea  of  expounding  the  duty  of  the  Church,  in  its 
official  capacity,  was  not  in  my  mind  at  all.  I  ask 
you  to  look  at  the  plain  terms  of  the  paragraph  : 

"  We  regard  the  Christian  instruction  and  elevation 
of  the  slaves  as  a  means  to  an  end,  and  that  end  is 
the  recovery  of  the  blessings  of  personal  liberty,  when 
Providence  shall  open  the  way  for  it.  The  higher 
end  is  the  salvation  of  their  souls." 

This  paragraph  simply  declares  the  Editor's  private 
opinion  in  regard  to  the  providential  antecedents 
which  must  necessarily  exist,  prior  to  the  fitness  of 
the  slaves  for  the  blessings  of  personal  liberty.  A 
Christian  man  ought  also,  as  I  supposed,  to  have  the 
end  in  view,  as  well  as  to  keep  the  means  in  operation. 


ON     SLAVEHOLDING.  277 

I  might,  perhaps,  have  fairly  declined  any  formal 
reply  to  your  second  letter,  on  the  ground  that  you 
transcended  the  real  intentions  of  my  statement. 
But  inasmuch  as  the  inference  you  have  drawn  from 
it  may  be  a  natural  one,  and  is  an  opinion  I  really 
hold,  and  the  arguments,  by  which  you  attempt  to 
oppose  it,  are,  in  my  judgment,  unsatisfactory,  I  shall 
accept  the  opportunity  of  discussing  what  you  seem 
to  insist  upon,  —  the  subject  of  "  Emancipation  and 
the  Church." 

You  begin  by  attempting  "  to  strip  the  proposition  " 
of  what  you  are  pleased  to  call  its  "  adventitious  sup- 
port." I  beg  leave,  however,  to  insist  that  its  Chris- 
tian drapery  shall  remain  upon  it,  and  that  it  shall 
retain  the  firm  support  of  its  own  Bible  truth.  The 
blessings  of  personal  liberty  have  not  been  considered 
by  me,  in  this  discussion,  in  any  other  sense  than  in- 
cluding well-being.  The  whole  morality  of  slave- 
holding  depends  upon  conditions  of  social  and  public 
welfare,  as  I  have  endeavored  to  show  in  my  first 
letter.  This  is  also  the  fundamental  idea  in  the  state- 
ment, which  you  desire  to  lay  violent  hands  upon. 
My  statement  contains  three  ideas,  which  ought  to  be 
a  sufficient  guard  against  the  impression  that  I  was 
in  favour  of  emancipation  without  an  adequate  pre- 
paration. These  three  ideas  are,  first,  a  work  of 
Christian  instruction  among  the  slaves;  secondly, 
their  elevation,  as  a  result  of  this  instruction ;  and 
24 


278  PRESBYTERIAN     VIEWS 

thirdly,  a  progressive  condition  of  society,  which, 
under  Providence,  would  render  emancipation  prac- 
ticable and  beneficial.  Could  anything  more  be  ex- 
pected to  render  my  meaning  plain,  and  to  include 
well-being  as  an  element  in  the  recovery  of  freedom  ? 

The  expression  "when  Providence  shall  open  the 
way  for  it,"  gives  the  latitude  required  in  a  question 
of  this  sort.  True  well-being  was  the  precise  thought 
in  my  mind ;  for,  as  you  justly  remark  :  "  Providence 
never  does  open  the  way  for  any  change,  unless  well- 
being  is  to  be  promoted  thereby."  Judge,  therefore, 
my  surprise,  when  I  find  you  not  only  imputing  to  me 
the  opposite  view,  but  also  trying  to  rob  my  proposi- 
tion of  the  support  of  Divine  Providence,  whose  glo- 
rious wisdom  and  power  are  so  deeply  concerned  in 
the  solution  of  this  intricate  problem.  My  view  of 
the  blessings  of  personal  liberty  magnifies  well-being. 
Instead  of  admitting,  therefore,  that  my  statement 
involves  a  petitio  prwcipii,  I  hold  that  the  real  peti- 
tion is  from  Dr.  Armstrong  to  alter  my  proposition  to 
suit  his  own  views.  This  petition  I  respectfully  de- 
cline. I  cannot  allow  any  one  to  banish  God  and  his 
providence  from  my  meditations  on  this  subject.  I 
choose  to  retain  the  whole  paragraph,  just  as  it  was 
written,  and  more  particularly  the  words  you  desire 
to  exclude. 

The  terms,  "  when  Providence  shall  open  the  way," 
are  used  in  exactly  the  same  sense  as  the  words, 


ON     SLAVEHOLDING.  279 

••  when  God  in  his  providence  shall  open  the  door  for 
their  emancipation," — an  expression  employed  by  the 
General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  in 
1815,  to  convey  the  same  idea  on  the  same  subject. 
The  question  of  the  time  of  emancipation  is  wisely 
left  to  the  counsels  of  the  Most  High.  Whether  it 
shall  be  long,  or  "before  very  long,"  depends,  in  no 
inconsiderable  degree,  so  far  as  human  instrumentality 
is  involved,  upon  the  views  of  those  who,  like  your- 
self, occupy  influential  positions  in  the  southern  sec- 
tion of  the  Church.  But  whether  the  time  be  long 
or  short,  it  will  be  when  "  Providence  opens  the  way," 
or  "  when  God  in  his  providence  shall  open  the  door." 
Not  until  then,  will  emancipation  be  consistent  with 
the  true  enjoyment  of  "the  blessings  of  personal 
liberty."  On  this  particular  point,  there  does  not 
appear  to  be  any  real  difference  of  opinion  between  us. 

We  also  agree  in  regard  to  the  chief  and  higher 
end,  which  the  Christian  slaveholder  should  keep 
before  him.  The  salvation  of  the  souls  of  his  slaves  is 
the  continual  burden  of  a  pious  master's  heart.  To 
be  instrumental  in  bringing  to  his  plantation-house- 
hold the  knowledge  of  the  true  God  and  of  redemp- 
tion by  Jesus  Christ,  is  the  primary  duty  and  privi- 
lege of  the  relation.  No  language  can  exaggerate 
the  magnitude  of  this  responsibility ;  no  enlightened 
Christian  conscience  can  resist  the  power  of  its  appeal. 

The  point  on  which  we  differ  is,  whether  the  Church 


280  PRESBYTERIAN    VIEWS 

lias  any  authority  to  contemplate  emancipation  as  a 
righteous  and  lawful  end.  This,  although  a  compara- 
tively inferior  matter,  is  nevertheless  one  of  real  in- 
terest and  importance.  And,  in  order  that  1  may  not 
be  misunderstood,  I  request  the  attention  of  my  bro- 
ther, Dr.  Armstrong,  to  a  few  brief  explanations. 

1.  In  the  first  place,  an  interest,  on  the  part  of  the 
Church,  in  emancipation,  does  not  imply  an  undut 
regard  for  the  temporal,  above  the  spiritual  welfare  of 
the  slaves.  The  chief  duty  is  to  preach  "  Jesus  Christ 
and  Him  crucified."  No  work  on  earth  compares 
with  that  of  religious  teaching  and  preaching.  The 
vast  concerns  of  immortality  should  ever  be  upper- 
most in  the  aims  and  enterprises  of  the  Church.  And 
yet  present  well-being  has  such  connections  with  eter- 
nal life,  as  to  claim  a  just  share  of  Christian  interest 
in  all  generations.  The  position  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  has  always  enabled  her  to  preach  the  Gospel 
to  both  masters  and  slaves.  Ours  is  not  an  agitating 
Church.  Her  testimony  on  emancipation,  as  I  shall 
presently  show,  has  been  uttered  firmly  and  fear- 
lessly ;  but,  unlike  modern  reformers,  or  other  Churches 
less  favored  of  heaven,  we  have  not  magnified  slavery 
above  the  higher  interests  of  the  kingdom  of  God. 
nor  substituted  vain  clamor  and  restless  agitation  in 
the  place  of  "righteousness,  peace,  and  joy  in  the 
Holy  Ghost," 

2.  In  the  second  place  ;  to  keep  in  view  emancipa- 


ON     SL  AVEHOLDING.  281 

tion  as  an  end,  which  naturally  follows  the  use  of 
lawful  means,  does  not  bring  the  Church  into  the  exclu- 
sive province  of  the  State.  Slavery  has  both  moral 
and  political  aspects.  In  the  letter  of  the  General 
Assembly  to  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Ireland,  in 
1846,  the  following  remarks  have  a  place  : 

"  The  relations  of  negro  slavery,  as  it  exists  in  the 
States  that  tolerate  it,  are  twofold.  Chiefly,  it  is  an 
institution  purely  civil,  depending  absolutely  upon  the 
will  of  the  civil '  power  in  the  States  respectively  in 
which  it  exists:  secondarily,  it  has  various  aspects 
and  relations,  purely  or  mainly  moral,  in  regard  to 
which  the  several  States  permit  a  greater  or  less 
decree  of  intervention." 

Our  Church  has  always  avoided  interference  with 
the  State,  in  matters  that  are  outside  of  her  own  ap- 
pointed work.  She  has  not  claimed  authority  over 
the  political  relations  of  slavery ;  nor  attempted  to 
extend  her  domain  over  subjects  not  plainly  within 
her  own  province.  It  is  only  where  slavery  conies 
within  the  line  of  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction  —  that  is 
to  say,  in  its  moral  and  religious  aspects,  —  that  our 
Church  has  maintained  her  right  to  deliver  her  testi- 
mony, in  such  forms,  and  at  such  times,  as  seemed 
best.  She  has  "  rendered  unto  Csesar  the  things  that 
are  Cesar's,  and  unto  God  the  things  that  are  God's." 
Let  no  man  attempt  to  despoil  her  of  this  joy. 

3.  In  the  third  place,  the  Church's  testimony,  in 
24* 


282  PRESBYTERIAN     VIEWS 

favour  of  emancipation,  as  a  righteous  end,  must  be 
distinguished  from  legislation  over  the  consciences  of 
men.  Testimony  differs  from  ecclesiastical  law.  It 
has  different  objects  and  purposes,  and  has  a  wider 
latitude  of  application.  A  Church  judicatory  may 
express  its  opinions,  and  attempt  to  exert  its  influence 
in  a  particular  direction,  within  its  lawful  sphere, 
without  pretending  to  make  laws  to  bind  the  con- 
science. There  are,  indeed,  duties  devolving  upon 
masters,  whose  violation  is  justly  made  the  subject  of 
discipline.  But  there  are  various  views  of  slavery, 
which  the  Church,  however  desirous  of  their  general 
adoption  among  her  members,  has  presented  only  in 
the  form  of  opinion,  or  testimony.  Acquiescence  in 
these  views,  as  for  example,  those  on  emancipation, 
has  never  been  made  a  test  of  Church  communion. 
Dissenters  from  testimonies  of  this  nature  have  no 
more  reason  to  complain,  than  the  minority  in  our 
public  bodies  have,  in  general,  reason  to  complain'  of 
the  decision  of  the  majority  on  other  questions,  which 
come  up  lawfully  for  consideration. 

4.  Emancipation,  as  an  end  to  be  kept  in  view. 
doe*  not  imply  reproach,  where  emancipation  is,  for  the 
present,  impracticable.  In  my  first  letter,  I  have  en- 
deavoured to  show  that  slaveholdino-  is  not  necessa- 
rily, and  under  all  circumstances,  sinful.  There  may 
be  conditions  of  society  where  the  continuance  of  the 
relation  is  among  the  highest  demands  of  religious 


ON     SLAVEHOLDING.  283 

obligation.  But  even  in  such  cases,  an  enlightened 
view  of  duty  would,  in  my  judgment,  acknowledge 
emancipation  to  be  an  end,  worthy  of  the  Gospel  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  The  two  ideas  of  the  lawful- 
ness of  the  existing  relation,  and  of  the  ultimate  end  of 
emancipation,  are  perfectly  consistent  and  harmonious. 
The  maintenance  of  the  latter  idea  conveys  no  re- 
proach upon  the  scriptural  view  of  slaveholding.  It 
is  antagonistic  only  to  the  unscriptural  view  of  the 
permanence  of  slavery,  as  an  ordinance  of  God,  on  a 
level  with  marriage  or  civil  government. 

5.  The  time  of  emancipation,  as  I  have  already 
intimated,  the  Church  has  left  to  the  decisions  of 
Providence.  Circumstances  vary  so  much  in  society, 
that  no  rule  can  have  a  universal  application.  It  is 
sufficient  to  keep  emancipation  in  view,  and  to  labour 
to  secure  its  attainment  as  speedily  as  circumstances 
will  permit,  or  "when  Providence  shall  open  the 
way." 

Having  made  these  explanations  in  the  hope  of 
disarming  prejudice,  and  conciliating  good  will,  I 
shall  proceed  to  show,  first,  that  my  views  of 
"  Emancipation  and  the  Church,"  are  sustained  by 
the  testimony  of  the  General  Assembly,  whilst  yours 
differ  from  it ;  and,  secondly,  that  the  testimony  of 
our  Church  is  sustained  by  the  Word  of  God. 

The  testimony  of  the  General  Assembly  on  eman- 
cipation is  important,  as  an  exhibition  of  the  general 


284  PRESBYTERIAN     VIEWS 

sentiments  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  on  this  greal 
social  question,  and  particularly  as  showing  its  inter- 
pretation of  the  Scriptures. 

The  first  deliverance  of  our  Church  on  the  subject, 
was  made  in  the  year  1787,  by  the  Synod  of  New 
York  and  Philadelphia,  which  was  at  that  time  our 
highest  judicatory,  and  was  in  the  act  of  forming  our 
present  ecclesiastical  constitution. 

The  deliverance  is  as  follows  : 

"The  Synod  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia  do  highly  ap- 
prove of  the  general  principles  in  favour  of  universal  liberty  that 
prevail  in  America,  and  the  interest  which  many  of  the  State- 
have  taken  in  promoting  the  abolition  of  slavery  ;  yet,  inasmuch 
as  men,  introduced  from  a  servile  state,  to  a  participation  of  all 
the  privileges  of  civil  society,  without  a  proper  education,  and 
without  previous  habits  of  industry,  may  be  in  many  respects 
dangerous  to  the  community  ;  therefore,  they  earnestly  recom- 
mend it  to  all  the  members  belonging  to  their  communion,  to 
give  those  persons  who  are  at  present  held  in  servitude,  such 
good  education  as  to  prepare  them  for  the  better  enjoyment  of 
freedom ;  and  they  moreover  recommend  that  masters,  whenever 
they  find  servants  disposed  to  make  a  just  improvement  of  the 
privilege,  would  give  them  a  peculium,  or  grant  them  sufficient 
time  and  sufficient  means  of  procuring  their  own  liberty,  at  a 
moderate  rate  ;  that  thereby  they  may  be  brought  into  society 
with  those  habits  of  industry  that  may  render  them  useful  citi- 
zens ;  and,  finally,  they  recommend  it  to  all  their  people  to  use 
the  most  prudent  measures  consistent  with  the  interests  and  the 
state  of  civil  society,  in  the  countries  where  they  live,  to  procure 
eventually  the  final  abolition  of  slavery  in  America,  " 

In  1793,  this  judgment  was  reaffirmed  by  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  and  again  reiterated  by  the  Assembly 


ON     SLAVEHOLDING.  285 

in  1795,  with  the  remark  that  "they  trust  every  consci- 
entious person  will  be  fully  satisfied  with  it."  Its 
brevity,  its  comprehensiveness,  its  conservative  tone, 
and  its  scriptural  authority,  make  this  testimony  de- 
serving of  great  attention.  The  General  Assembly, 
in  1815,  testified  to  the  same  effect : 

"  The  General  Assembly  have  repeatedly  declared  their  cor- 
dial approbation  of  those  principles  of  civil  liberty,  which  ap- 
pear to  be  recognized  by  the  Federal  and  State  Governments  in 
these  United  States.  They  have  expressed  their  regret  that  the 
slavery  of  the  Africans,  and  of  their  descendants,  still  continues 
in  so  many  places,  and  even  among  those  within  the  pale  of  the 
Church,  and  have  urged  the  Presbyteries  under  their  care  to 
adopt  such  measures  as  will  secure,  at  least  to  the  rising  genera- 
tion of  slaves  within  the  bounds  of  the  Church,  a  religious  edu- 
cation, that  they  may  be  prepared  for  the  exercise  and  enjoy- 
ment of  liberty,  when  God,  in  his  providence,  may  open  the 
door  for  their  emancipation." 

It  could  hardly  be  expected  that  a  deliverance 
could  be  found  on  the  records  of  our  Church,  so  ex- 
actly concurring  in  thought  and  language  with  the 
extemporaneous  statement  contained  in  my  brief 
review. 

In  1818,  the  largest  Assembly  that  had  yet  been 
convened,  met  in  Philadelphia.  An  abler  body  of 
divines,  probably,  never  assembled  in  our  highest 
judicatory.  The  paper  adopted  by  them,  on  the  sub- 
ject of  slavery,  is  too  well  known  to  require  large  ex- 
tracts.    It  was  drawn  up  by  Dr.  Ashbel  Green,  with 


286  PRESBYTERIAN     VIEWS 

the  concurrence  of  Dr.  George  A.  Baxter,  of  your 
own  Synod.     Dr.  Speece,  of  Virginia,  was   Dr.  Bax- 
ter's fellow-commissioner-from  your  old  Presbytery  i  >t 
Lexington.     I  only  quote  a  few  sentences  from   this 
celebrated  document : 

"We  rejoice  that  the  Church  to  which  we  belong,  commenced 
as  early  as  any  other  in  this  country,  the  good  work  of  endeavour- 
ing to  put  an  end  to  slavery,  and  that  in  the  same  work,  many 
of  its  members  have  ever  since  been,  and  now  are  among  the 
most  active,  efficient,  and  vigorous  labourers. " 

"At  the  same  time,  we  earnestly  exhort  them  to  continue,  and, 
if  possible,  to  increase  their  exertions  to  effect  a  total  abolition 
of  slavery.  We  exhort  them  to  suffer  no  greater  delay  to  take 
place  in  this  most  interesting  concern,  than  a  regard  to  the  pub- 
lic welfare  truly  and  indispensably  demands.'' 

"We,  therefore,  warn  all  who  belong  to  our  denomination  of 
Christians,  against  unduly  extending  this  plea  of  necessity, 
against  making  it  a  cover  for  the  love  and  practice  of  slavery, 
or  a  pretence  for  not  using  efforts  that  are  lawful  and  practica- 
ble, to  extinguish  this  evil. 

"And  we  at  the  same  time  exhort  others  to  forbear  harsh  cen- 
sures, and  uncharitable  reflections  on  their  brethren,  who  unhap- 
pily live  among  slaves,  whom  they  cannot  immediately  set  free, 
but  who  are  really  using  all  of  their  influence  and  all  their  en- 
deavours to  bring  them  into  a  state  of  freedom,  as  soon  as  a 
door  for  it  can  be  safely  opened."  l 

1  The  Assembly's  testimony  of  1818  was  reaffirmed  at  the  last 
meeting  of  the  Synods  of  Pittsburg  and  Ohio.  These  two 
Synods,  in  the  midst  of  which  the  Western  Theological  Semi- 
nary stands,  have  been  denominated  the  "back  bone  of  Presby- 
terianism."  The  testimony  of  1818  contains  some  expressions 
which  might  be  advantageously  altered  ;  but,  with  the  proper 
explanations,  it  is  consistent  with  that  of  1845.  The  parts  I 
have  quoted  have  not  been  excepted  to,  so  far  as  I  know. 


OX     S  L  A  V  E  II  0  L  D  I  N  G  .  287 

The  General  Assembly,  in.  1845,  took  action  on 
the  specific  point,  whether  slaveholding  was,  under 
all  circumstances,  a  bar  to  Christian  communion ;  and 
in  1846,  reaffirmed  all  the  testimony  uttered  by  pre- 
ceding General  Assemblies. 

Here  I  might  rest  the  case,  so  far  as  your  opposi- 
tion to  the  recorded  views  of  our  Church  needed  any 
demonstration ;  but  as  you  are  now  a  Virginian,  1 
cannot  avoid  inviting  your  attention  to  the  testimony 
of  the  Synod  of  Virginia,  in  1800.  Half  a  century 
has,  indeed,  passed  by,  and  many  of  the  precious 
men  of  God,  who  then  served  the  churches  from  Lex- 
ington to  Norfolk,  have  ceased  from  their  labours; 
but  the  record  of  their  opinions  will  endure  through- 
out all  generations. 

This  subject  was  brought  before  the  Synod  of  Vir- 
ginia by  a  memorial  on  emancipation,  from  one  of 
their  congregations.  The  following  extracts  are  from 
the  answer  returned  by  the  Synod  to  the  memorial : 

"  That  so  many  thousands  of  our  fellow-creatures  should,  in 
this  land  of  liberty  and  asylum  for  the  oppressed,  be  held  in 
chains,  is  a  reflection  to  us  painfully  afflictive.  And  most  ear- 
nestly do  we  wish,  that  all  the  members  of  our  communion  would 
pay  a  proper  attention  to  the  recommendation  of  the  late  Synod 
of  New  York  and  Philadelphia  upon  this  subject.  We  consider 
it  the  indispensable  duty  of  all  who  hold  slaves  to  prepare,  by  a 
suitable  education,  the  young  among  them  for  a  state  of  free- 
dom, and  to  liberate  them  as  soon  as  they  shall  appear  to  be  duly 
qualified  for  that  high  privilege ;  and.  such  as  neglect  a  duty  so 
evidently  and  so  powerfully  enforced  by  the  common  principles 


288  PRESBYTERIAN     VIEWS 

of  justice,  as  well  as  by  the  dictates  of  humanity,  and  the  benign 
genius  of  our  holy  religion,  ought,  in  our  opinion,  to  be  seriously 
dealt  with  and  admonished  on  that  account.  But  to  refuse  to 
hold  Christian  communion  with  any  who  may  differ  from  us  in 
sentiment  and  practice  in  this  instance,  would,  we  conceive,  in  the 
present  conjuncture  at  least,  be  a  very  unwarrantable  procedure  ; 
a  direct  infraction  of  the  decision  of  the  General  Assembly  of 
our  Church,  and  a  manifest  departure  from  the  practice  of  the 
Apostles  and  the  primitive  Church." 

"That  it  was  wrong,  in  the  first  instance,  to  reduce  so  many  of 
the  helpless  Africans  to  their  present  state  of  thraldom  will  be 
readily  admitted,  and  that  it  is  a  duty  to  adopt  proper  measures 
for  their  emancipation,  will,  it  is  /-resumed,  be  universally  con- 
ceded. But,  with  respect  to  the  measures  best  calculated  to  ac- 
complish that  important  purpose,  and  the  time  necessary  to  give 
them  full  effect,  different  sentiments  may  be  entertained  by  the 
true  disciples  of  the  Great  Friend  of  man.'' 

The  Synod  of  Virginia  probably  entertain  the  same 
sentiments  in  1858 ;  and,  if  the  occasion  required  it, 
would  doubtless  reaffirm  this  testimony,  with  the 
same  love  to  Christ  that  originated  it  in  the  days  of 
Waddell,  Legrand,  Rice,  Alexander,  Lacy,  Hoge, 
Lyle,  Brown,  Baxter,  Houston,  etc., — a  generation  of 
revered  men,  "  mighty  in  the  Scriptures." 

It  is  clear  that  my  statement  concerning  "  Eman- 
cipation and  the  Church"  is  no  novelty,  but  that  it  is 
regular,  orthodox,  old-fashioned,  Presbyterian  truth. 

Secondly.  I  further  maintain,  that  this  truth  is 
scriptural  truth ;  and,  that  the  Church  has  a  right  to 
propose,  and  to  hold  forth,  emancipation  as  a  righteous 
end,  when  Providence  shall  open  the  way. 


OX     SLAVE  HOLDING.  289 

Here  I  am  met,  at  once,  by  your  declaration,  that 
"  The  word  of  God  contains  no  deliverance,  express 
or  clearly  implied,  respecting  emancipation.  Hence, 
I  affirm,  that  the  Church  has  no  right  to  make  a  de- 
liverance respecting  it ;  much  less  to  set  it  before  her- 
self as  an  end  of  her  labours." 

In  examining  this  proposition,  I  venture  to  lay 
down  the  following,  as  a  counter  proposition  in  part, 
and  as  a  more  scriptural  view  of  the  subject ;  viz.  : 
The  Church  has  a  right  to  expound,  and  to  apply,  the 
word  of  God,  in  reference  to  all  the  relations  of  life, 
and  to  all  the  changing  aspects  of  society.  The  ex- 
position and  application  must,  of  course,  be  consistent 
with  the  spirit  and  principles  of  the  Bible,  but  they 
are  not  limited  to  the  mere  word  of  its  letter,  nor  to 
any  general  or  universal  formula  of  expression.  From 
the  nature  of  the  case,  exposition  requires  enlarge- 
ment of  scriptural  statement,  and  application  implies 
a  regard  to  providential  developments  and  to  the  vary- 
ing circumstances  of  social  and  public  life.  Paul's 
Epistle  to  the  Corinthians  was  very  different  from  his 
Epistles  to  the  Romans  and  to  the  Hebrews,  although 
they  all  contained  expositions  of  the  same  scriptural 
doctrines ;  and  his  Epistle  to  Philemon  contained  a 
new  application,  in  the  case  of  Onesimus,  of  principles, 
not  previously  so  fully  developed.  The  Church  has, 
in  every  age,  the  right  to  expound  the  sacred  Scrip- 
tures according  to  the  light  granted  by  the  Holy 
25  t 


'H>0  PRESBYTERIAN    VIEWS 

Spirit,  and  to  apply  its  interpretation   to  all  caf 
judged  to  be  within  its  spiritual  jurisdiction. 

I.  Let  us,  in  this  search  after  Bible  truth,  glana 
at  some  of  the  views  of  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures, 
on  slavery  and  emancipation. 

A  terrific  statute  flashed  out  from  Sinai  into  the 
legislation  of  the  Hebrew  commonwealth.  By  the 
laws  of  Moses,  "  He  that  stealeth  a  man,  and  selleth 
him,  or  if  he  be  found  in  his  hands,  he  shall  surely 
be  put  to  death."  (Ex.  21  :  1G.)  The  original  man- 
stealer,  and  the  receiver  of  the  stolen  person,  were 
both  to  suffer  the  penalty  of  death.  The  operation 
of  this  single  statute  would  have  forever  excluded 
the  existence  of  American  slavery. 

Another  provision,  of  some  significance,  shone  with 
benignant  beams  of  liberty.  A  fugitive  slave,  from 
a  foreign  country,  was  not  to  be  sent  back  into  slavery. 
(Deut.  23  :  15,  16.)  The  Hebrew  commonwealth 
was  a  city  of  refuge  and  an  asylum  of  liberty  to  the 
surrounding  nations.  These  two  statutes  stood,  like 
Jachin  and  Boaz,  at  the  vestibule  of  the  Mosaic  legis- 
lation on  slavery. 

Hebrew  bondmen  were  held  under  a  system,  which 
resembled,  in  its  nature,  hired  service  rather  than 
slavery,  and  whose  duration  was  limited.  Hebrew 
servants  were  emancipated  on  the  seventh  year,  except 
in  cases  of  voluntary  agreement,  and  of  children  born 


ON     S  L  AVE  HOLDING.  291 

under  certain  circumstances.  In  the  year  of  Jubilee, 
liberty  was  proclaimed  "  unto  all  the  inhabitants  of 
the  land."  (Lev.  25  :  10.)  In  the  fiftieth  year,  every 
Hebrew  "  returned  unto  his  family,"  under  the  pro- 
tection of  a  great  festival  statute. 

The  Old  Testament  dispensation  made  distinctions 
between  the  Israelites  and  Gentiles,  in  various  parts 
of  its  legislation,  and,  among  others,  on  slavery. 
Bondmen,  purchased  by  the  Hebrews  from  the  Gen- 
tiles, might  be  held  in  perpetuity.  Their  bondage, 
however,  as  Dr.  Spring  remarks,  partook  of  the  char- 
acter of  apprenticeship,  rather  than  of  rigorous  servi- 
tude. 

The  great  fact  remains  prominent,  that  the  bondage 
of  the  Hebrews  was  temporary.  Emancipation  was 
continually  in  sight;  and  the  effect  of  their  septennial 
and  jubilee  emancipation  periods  must  have  been  a 
moral  check  and  rebuke  to  slavery,  under  whatever 
forms  it  was  tolerated. 

The  long-existing  middle  wall  of  partition  between 
Jews  and  Gentiles,  was  at  length  overthrown  by 
Christianity.  Thenceforward,  all  mankind  stood  in 
the  new  relation  of  a  common  brotherhood.  "  There 
is  neither  Jew  nor  Greek,  there  is  neither  bond  nor 
free,  there  is  neither  male  nor  female  ;  for  ye  are  all 
one  in  Christ  Jesus.  And  if  ye  be  Christ's,  then  are 
ye  Abraham's  seed,  and  heirs  according  to  the  pro- 
mise."   (Gal.   3  :  28,   29.)     Timothy,    who,    from    a 


292  PRESBYTERIAN     VIEWS 

child,  had  known  the  Holy  Scriptures,  must  have 
realized,  with  all  pious  Jews,  that  the  spirit  of  the 
Old  Testament  no  longer  sanctioned  the  holding  of 
even  Gentile  brethren,  in  perpetual  bondage.  All  laws, 
peculiar  to  the  Jewish  economy,  being  now  abolished, 
the  New  Testament,  in  its  larger  spirit  and  greater 
light,  was  brought  into  contact  with  the  arbitrary 
slavery  of  the  Pagan  nations.  Can  it  be  believed 
that,  under  these  circumstances,  any  well-instructed 
Jewish  Christians  would  become  voluntarily  involved 
in  the  pagan  system  of  slavery?  Heathen  slave- 
holders, on  their  becoming  Christians,  received  instruc- 
tions which  gave  new  views  of  their  obligations,  and 
which  tended  to  the  ultimate  abolition  of  the  system. 

II.  Christianity,  in  reforming  the  evils  of  society, 
inculcated  general  principles,  of  far  greater  influence 
than  positive  Mosaic  laws.  Before  examining  the 
true  tendency  of  some  of  these  scriptural  principles, 
I  shall  ask  your  attention  to  the  doctrine,  which  Paul 
expounded  to  the  Corinthian  slaves.  "Art  thou 
called,  being  a  servant,  or  slave,  care  not  for  it.  But 
if  thou  mayst  be  made  free,  use  IT  rather."  (1  Cor. 
7  :  21.) 

The  ideas  that  are  fairly  implied  in  this  verse  are 
the  following : 

1.  Religion  is  the  most  precious  of  all  blessings  to 
mankind.     The  Lord's  freeman  may  bear,  with  little 


ON     SLAVEHOLDING.  293 

anxiety,  any  external  condition  of  life,  even  though 
it  be  that  of  bondage.  Well  may  Presbyterians 
rejoice  that  their  Church,  in  conformity  to  apostolic 
precept  and  practice,  has  preached  the  Gospel  to  the 
slaves,  without  unduly  agitating  points  bearing  on 
their  temporal  welfare. 

2.  Slavery  is  an  abnormal,  and  not  a  permanent, 
condition.  Paul  exhorted  Christian  slaves  to  seek 
emancipation,  if  within  their  reach,  or  if  Providence 
opened  the  way  for  it.  It  is  impossible  to  reconcile 
this  inspired  passage  with  the  theory  that  slavery, 
like  civil  government  or  marriage,  is  an  ordinance  of 
God,  to  be  perpetuated  forever.  "  Use  your  freedom, 
rather,"  says  Paul,  expounding  the  nature  of  slavery. 
and  throwing  the  light  of  inspiration  upon  its  ano- 
malous character.  When  did  the  Apostle  ever  exhort 
husbands  and  wives  not  to  care  for  the  marriage  tie. 
and  to  seek  to  be  free  from  it,  if  the  opportunity 
offered  ?  Slavery  was  in  its  nature  a  temporary  ex- 
pedient, differing  from  marriage,  which  is  founded 
upon  the  natural  and  permanent  relations  of  life. 
Slavery  is  limited  in  its  duration  by  the  very  condi- 
tions of  its  lawful  existence. 

3.  The  Apostle  teaches  the  Corinthian  slaves  that 
liberty  is  a  higher  and  better  condition  than  bondage. 
Although  Christian  slaves  ought  to  be  submissive  to 
their  lot,  they  have  a  right  to  regard  liberty  as  a 
greater  blessing.     Calvin,  our   great   commentator, 

25* 


294  PRESBYTERIAN     VIEWS 

says:  "Paul  means  to  intimate  thai  Liberty  is  do* 
merely  good,  but  also  more  advantageous  Hon,  servi- 
tude. If  he  is  speaking  to  servants,  his  meaning  will 
be  this  :  While  I  exhort  you  to  be  free  from  anxiety, 
I  do  not  hinder  you  from  even  availing  yourselves  of 
liberty,  if  a  [lawful]  opportunity  presents  itself  to 
you.  If  he  is  addressing  himself  to  those  who  are 
free,  it  will  be  a  kind  of  concession,  as  though  he  had 
sald, — I  exhort  servants  to  be  of  good  courage,  though 
a  state  of  freedom  is  preferable,1  and  more  to  be  de- 
sired, if  one  has  it  in  his  choice."  The  Apostle  evi- 
dently considered  liberty  to  be  the  highest  state,  offer- 
ing an  advance  in  civilization  and  true  well-being, 
when  Providence  opens  the  way. 

4.  Paul  also  maintains  that  emancipation  is  an 
object  of  Christian  desire,  when  it  can  be  lawfully 
secured.  Our  own  great  commentator,  Dr.  Hodge, 
says :  "  Paul's  object  is  not  to  exhort  men  not  to  im- 
prove their  condition,  but  simply  not  to  allow  their 
social  relations  to  disturb  them  ;  or  imagine  that  their 
becoming  Christians  rendered  it  necessary  to  change 
those  relations.  He  could,  with  perfect  consistency 
with  the  context,  say  to  the  slave :  '  Let  not  your 
being  a  slave  give  you  any  concern ;  but  if  you  can 
become  free,  choose  freedom  rather  than  slavery.' 
Luther,  Calvin,  Beza,  and  the  great  body  of  commen- 


"  Soit  bcaucoup  meilleur  "  —  "  is  much  better." 


ON     SLAVE  HOLDING.  295 

tutors,  from  their  day  to  this,  understood  the  Apostle 
to  say  that  liberty  was  to  be  chosen,  if  the  oppor- 
tunity to  become  free  were  offered." 

Now,  if  the  great  Apostle  to  the  Gentiles  taught 
that  slavery  is  an  inferior  condition,  and  that,  under 
right  eircumstances,  emancipation  is  a  lawful  object 
of  Christian  desire,  may  not  the  Church  teach  the 
same  things?  Whilst  the  highest  and  chief  end  is 
to  lead  the  slaves  to  Christ  and  to  heaven,  is  the 
Church  compelled  to  abjure  all  other  ends,  relating 
to  human  happiness,  elevation,  and  liberty?  Far 
from  it.  Paul's  doctrine  to  Timothy,  upon  which 
you  lay  so  much  stress,  must  not  be  expounded  to 
the  exclusion  of  Paul's  doctrine  to  the  Corinthians. 

Christian  masters  are  informed,  in  this  passage, 
that  their  slaves  may  rightly  regard  their  bondage  as 
an  inferior  state,  which  may  be  superseded  in  due 
time;  and  the  masters  themselves  are  thus,  incident- 
ally, instructed  to  keep  emancipation  in  view,  and 
to  prepare  the  slaves  for  it,  when  the  providential 
opportunity  arrives. 

Further.  If  emancipation  be  a  good  which  slaves 
may  lawfully  desire,  it  is  a  good  which  all  Christians 
may  lawfully  desire,  and  labour,  according  to  their 
opportunity,  to  confer  upon  than.  It  is  not,  indeed, 
in  such  a  sense  an  absolute  good  that  it  may  not  be 
abused,  or  that  every  class  of  people  is  always  pre- 
pared safely  to  possess  it.     The  same  is  true  of  the 


296  PRESBYTERIAN     VIEWS 

self-control  which  the  law  confers  upon  children,  on 
reaching  their  majority.  But  is  this  any  reason  why 
children  should  not  desire  to  be  their  own  masters  al 
a  suitable  age,  or  why  all  should  not  desire  and  la- 
bour so  to  train  them  that  they  may  be  duly  prepai 
at  the  fit  time,  to  be  invested  with  self-control '. 

You  refer  me  to  the  explanations  of  your  book  on 
this  passage  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians.  The 
explanations  I  find  to  be  twofold  :  First,  you  urge 
that  slavery  in  Greece  and  Rome  was  far  more  rigor- 
ous than  in  our  Southern  States;  and  secondly,  that 
the  Africans  and  Anglo-Saxons  belong  to  different 
races;  and  that,  on  these  two  accounts,  the  doctrine 
of  Paul  has  a  less  forcible  application  to  American 
than  to  Corinthian  slaves.  I  cheerfully  yield  to  your 
argument  any  benefit  which  maybe  fairly  claimed  by 
a  change  of  circumstances ;  but  I  submit,  in  reply, 
first,  that  human  nature  is  the  same  in  all  ages  and 
nations,  and  has  natural  desires  to  embrace  every 
lawful  opportunity  to  improve  its  outwrard  condition ; 
secondly,  that  the'  Apostle  propounds  a  principle, 
which  has  a  real  bearing  upon  slavery  at  all  times 
and  everywhere ;  thirdly,  that  the  light,  liberty,  and 
Christian  appliances  of  the  nineteenth  century,  are 
an  offset  against  the  supposed  advantages  for  emanci- 
pation possessed  by  ancient  Greece  and  Rome ;  and 
fourthly,  that  your  apology  for  not  fully  applying  the 
principle  to  slavery  nowr,  as  well  as  to  slavery  eighteen 


ON     SLA  VEHOLDING.  297 

hundred  years  ago,  is  at  least  a  virtual  acquiescence, 
however  feeble,  in  the  truth  of  Paul's  doctrine.  I 
find,  indeed,  on  recurring  to  your  book,  that  Dr.  Arm- 
strong expounds  the  passage  admirably.  You  say: 
"  Yet,  if  they  can  lawfully  be  made  free,  as  a  general 
rule,  slaves  had  better  accept  their  freedom ;  for  a 
condition  of  slavery  is  not  to  be  desired  on  its  own 
account."  p.  67.  This  is  substantially  the  "Chris- 
tian doctrine  "  I  am  advocating ;  but  how  a  Christian 
minister  can  reconcile  this  scriptural  view  of  the  sub- 
ject with  the  silent  and  unchallenged  expression  of 
all  sorts  of  opinions  about  the  perpetuity,  desirable- 
ness, etc.,  of  slavery,  I  leave  others  to  determine. 
Slavery  was  no  less  a  political  institution  in  the  days 
of  Paul  than  it  is  now.  Is  the  Church,  therefore,  to 
be  perpetually  silent,  as  though  slavery  possessed  no 
moral  relations  to  the  law  of  God  ?  Is  it  exclusively 
a  question  of  "  capital  and  labour  ?  "  Surely,  the 
Church  may  follow  Paul  in  his  inspired  expositions, 
although  his  Epistles  contain  some  things  "  hard  to 
be  understood,"  and  easy  to  "  wrest." 

III.  Paul's  incidental  interpretation  of  the  law  of 
liberty  to  the  Corinthian  slaves,  is  in  entire  accordance 
with  the  injunctions  of  Scripture.  Slaveholding  is 
not  in  itself  sinful,  but  its  existence  binds  upon  mas- 
ters and  slaves  mutual  obligations,  whose  tendency  is 
to  abolish,   eventually,   the   entire   system.     If  the 


298  PRESBYTERIAN     VIEWS 

Scriptures  enjoin  what,  of  necessity,  leads  to  emanci- 
pation, they  enjoin  emancipation  itself,  when  the  time 
comes;  if  they  forbid  what  is  necessary  to  the  per- 
petuity of  slavery,  they  forbid  that  slavery  should  be 
perpetuated. 

How,  then,  do  these  divine  injunctions  to  masters 
and  slaves  operate  against  the  perpetuity  of  slavery  ? 
1.  Christianity  requires  the  land  personal  treatment 
of  the  slaves;  it  removes  the  rigours  of  bondage,  and 
insensibly  assimilates  the  system  to  one  of  apprentice- 
ship.    Religious  obligation  is  made  the  basis  of  all 
the  duties  of  the  relation.     There  is  a  "  Master  in 
Heaven,"  who  rules  over  all;  who  searches  the  hearts 
of  all ;  who  weighs  the  actions  of  all ;  and  who  keeps 
a  record  for  the  final  judgment.    "  The  Bible  method," 
says  Dr.  Hodge,  "  of  dealing  with  slavery  and  similar 
institutions,  is  to  enforce,  on  all  concerned,  the  great 
principles  of  moral  obligation.  —  assured   that  those 
principles,  if  allowed  free  scope,  will  put  an  end  to 
all  the  evils  both  in  the  political  and  social  relations 
of  men."     "  First,  the  evils  of  slavery,  and  then  sla- 
very itself,  would   pass    away  as  naturally  and   as 
healthfully  as  children  cease   to  be  minors."     The 
kind  treatment  which  the  Gospel  requires   towards 
slaves,  and  the  corresponding  obligations  of  slaves  to 
their  masters,  cultivate  feelings  of  mutual  regard. 
which  open  the  way  for  everything  good  in  due  time. 
2.  The  effect  of  Christianity  upon  the  sanctity  of 


ON     SLAVEHOLDING.  299 

tlu  marriage  state,  is  of  the  same  preparatory  nature. 
The  law  of  Eden  regulates  social  life  everywhere; 
it  protects  husbands  and  wives  on  the  plantation,  in 
their  relations  to  each  other  and  their  children.  The 
husband  is  "the  head  of  the  wife,  as  Christ  is  the 
head  of  the  Church."  "As  the  Church  is  subject  to 
( 'hrist,  so  let  the  wives  be  to  their  own  husbands  in 
everything."  Forcible  disruptions  of  the  marriage 
bond  by  sale,  or  by  separation  for  life,  are  not  author- 
ized by  the  word  of  God.  The  Christian  law  of 
marriage  holds  inviolate  the  sacred  privacies  of  home ; 
and  the  very  difficulties  of  fulfilling  the  obligations 
of  this  law  in  a  state  of  bondage,  are  suggestions  in 
behalf  of  the  natural  state  of  liberty. 

3.  The  Gospel  demands  an  adequate  compensation 
of  service.  "The  labourer  is  worthy  of  his  hire," 
whether  he  be  a  minister  of  the  sanctuary  or  a  plan- 
tation slave.  He  is  entitled  to  food,  raiment,  and 
shelter,  and  to  whatever  additional  remuneration  and 
privilege  justice  demands,  in  view  of  all  the  circum- 
stances in  each  case.  This  doctrine  of  equitable 
compensation  gradually  unsettles  the  arbitrary  or 
despotic  nature  of  the  relation,  and  provides  a  natural 
progress  towards  the  coming  end. 

4.  Religion  protects  the  avails  of  human  industry  ; 
it  favours  the  right  of  every  man  to  the  fruits  of  his 
labour.  The  laws  of  -the  State  deny,  in  general,  the 
right  of  slaves  to  any  property ;  but  the  Bible  enjoins 


300  PRESBYTERIAN     VIEWS 

that  which  is  "just  and  equal."  In  practice,  Chris- 
tian masters  generally  acknowledge,  in  a  greater  or 
less  degree,  the  justice  of  this  claim.  Such  a  prac- 
tice is  a  scriptural  auxiliary  to  final  emancipation. — 
Ideas  of  property  enlarge  the  mind,  cherish  thoughts 
of  independence,  cultivate  habits  of  industry,  and 
possess  a  stimulating  power  upon  the  general  charac- 
ter of  the  slave,  which  fits  him  for  the  exercise  of  all 
the  rights  of  liberty,  "  when  Providence  shall  open 
the  way." 

5.  The  intellectual  and  moral  elevation  of  the  slaves 
is  a  necessary  result  of  Christian  treatment  and  in- 
struction. The  Bible  is  the  universal  text-book  for 
mankind.  Religious  knowledge  introduces  all  other 
knowledge.  Any  system  that  depends  for  its  support 
upon  the  ignorance  and  debasement  of  the  people,  is 
doomed,  by  the  law  of  Providence,  to  extinction.  It 
was  the  wish  of  a  pious  king  that  every  man  in  his 
dominions  might  be  able  to  read  the  Bible.  A  Chris- 
tian slaveholder,  in  like  manner,  realizes  the  obliga- 
tions to  give  instruction  to  the  slaves  in  his  household. 
Religion  tends  to  knowledge  and  virtue ;  and  know- 
ledge and  virtue  tend  to  liberty. 

If  these  statements  are  correct,  obedience  to  the 
special  injunctions  of  the  Bible,  on  the  subject  of  sla- 
very, tends  to,  and  necessarily  terminates  in,  Eman- 
cipation.     The  Church,  therefore,  may  scripturallv 


ON     SLAVEHOLDING.  301 

keep  in  view  this  great  moral  result,  to  the  glory  of 
her  heavenly  King. 

IV.  I  add,  that  the  universal  spirit  and  fundamen- 
tal principles  of  religion  originate,  and  foster,  senti- 
ments favourable  to  the  natural  rights  of  mankind. 
Born  of  the  same  race,  inheritors  of  the  same  corrupt 
nature,  heirs  of  the  same  Divine  promises,  partakers 
of  the  same  redemption  in  Jesus  Christ,  subjects  of 
the  same  resurrection  from  the  dead,  and,  if  saved, 
inhabitants  of  the  same  mansions  of  glory  and  immor- 
tality, the  children  of  bondage  are  elevated  by  the 
Bible  to  a  condition  of  co-equal  spiritual  dignity,  that 
asserts,  and  must  ultimately  obtain,  the  full  recogni- 
tion of  all  their  rights. 

Love  to  God  and  love  to  man,  is  the  substance  of 
the  Divine  requirements.  "  Thou  shalt  love  thy 
neighbour  as  thyself;"  "All  things  whatsoever  ye 
would  that  men  should  do  to  you,  do  ye  even  so 
unto  them."  I  am  aware  of  the  fanatical  and  un- 
scriptural  interpretations  that  have  been  sometimes 
put  upon  the  great  law  of  Christian  reciprocity.  I 
disclaim  fellowship  with  unreasonable  and  false  dog- 
mas. But  I  think  that  the  fair,  scriptural  interpre- 
tation of  the  rule  of  love  bears  irresistibly  against 
the  perpetuity  of  slavery,  as  well  as  against  its  rash 
or  precipitate  overthrow.  Christianity  seeks  to  ad- 
just the  condition  of  society,  on  a  basis  of  universal 
26 


302  PRESBYTERIAN     VIEWS 

brotherhood;  fitted  to  accomplish  the  sublime  pur- 
poses of  "peace  on  earth,  and  good-will  towanfe 
men." 

In  all  periods  of  her  history,  the  Church  has  iden- 
tified herself  with  the  well-being  of  the  masses. — 
Without  interfering  with  political  relations,  she  has 
never  renounced  her  interest  in  the  highest  welfare 
of  the  human  race,  both  in  this  life  and  the  life  to 
come.  At  the  present  day,  the  Presbyterian  Church. 
in  preaching  the  Gospel  to  the  heathen,  expends  a 
part  of  her  resources  in  sending  physicians  to  heal 
their  diseases,  farmers  to  assist  in  agricultural  man- 
agement, mechanics  to  work  at  printing  presses, 
teachers  to  instruct  in  schools.  The  principle  actua- 
ting this  general  policy  is,  that  the  temporal  well- 
being  of  mankind  is,  within  certain  limits,  directly 
auxiliary  to  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  and  the  sal- 
vation of  souls.  So  far  as  slavery  is  a  question  of 
"  dapital  and  labour,"  or  so  far  as  emancipation  de- 
pends upon  the  laws  of  the  State,  ecclesiastical  au- 
thority is  impertinent ;  but  the  moral  results  to  be 
secured  by  the  elevation  and  emancipation  of  the 
slaves,  are  within  the  true  aim  of  the  law  of  love 
and  of  Gospel  grace. 

Can  it  be  "  extra-scriptural,  unscriptural,  and  anti- 
scriptural,"  for  the  Church,  besides  seeking  the  eter- 
nal salvation  of  the  slaves,  to  endeavour  to  intro- 
duce them  to  the  blessings  of  personal  liberty,  "when 


ON     SLAVE  HOLDING.  303 

Providence  shall  open  the  way  ?"  Certainly,  nothing 
less  than  this  result  is  to  be  desired,  when  Providence 
shall  so  arrange  and  prepare  things,  that  the  welfare 
of  society  and  the  claims  of  justice  and  mercy  shall 
require  the  termination  of  involuntary  servitude. — 
This  supposes  a  great  advance  in  the  intellectual, 
moral,  and  religious  condition  of  the  slaves.  Is  it 
sinful  to  desire,  and  pray,  and  labour  for  such  a  state 
of  things  ?  If  so,  I  confess  myself  ignorant  of  the 
first  principles  of  the  doctrine  of  Christ. 

In  bringing  this  long  letter  to  a  close,  I  must  ask 
your  attention  to  one  or  two  things  more. 

If  the  Scriptures  do  not  contain  any  deliverance 
on  this  subject,  either  "  express  or  clearly  implied," 
then  the  Christian,  as  a  citizen,  has  no  divine  rule  to 
guide  his  conduct.  Emancipation,  if  it  comes  at  all, 
comes  not  as.  a  desired  end,  but  as  a  mere  incident. 
The  whole  question,  with  its  moralities  and  economics, 
is  left  to  the  operation  of  natural  laws.  If  not  a 
scriptural  end,  it  may,  or  may  not,  be  reckoned  within 
the  range  of  private  and  public  prayer,  and  of  earnest 
Christian  enterprise  and  activity.  If  "extra-scrip- 
tural, unscriptural,  and  anti-scriptural,"  might  not 
some  infer  that  it  was  sinful?  The  motives  that 
lead  men  to  glorify  God  in  labouring  to  remove  social 
evils,  are  thus  impaired  in  their  force,  if  not  rendered 
inoperative  in  this  particular  sphere.     The  effect  of 


304  PRESBYTERIAN    VIEWS 

such  doctrine  in  perpetuating  slavery,  cannot  be  con- 
cealed or  denied. 

If  I  understand  you,  emancipation  in  Liberia  is 
acknowledged  to  be  a  proper  object  of  ecclesiastical 
action,  for  the  reason,  among  others,  that  it  passes  by 
the  question  of  "the  general  ultimate  emancipation 
of  the  slaves"  in  this  country.  But  is  not  the  prin- 
ciple the  same,  wherever  the  result  may  be  finally 
secured  ?  My  statement  leaves  the  time,  place,  and 
circumstances  of  emancipation  to  the  Providence  of 
God  ;  whilst  your  view  seems  to  admit  the  lawfulness 
of  the  end,  provided  that  you  yourself  locate  and 
define  the  land  of  liberty.  Is  not  this  a  virtual  sur- 
render of  the  principle  contained  in  your  argument  ? 
In  your  general  sentiments  on  Liberian  Colonization. 
I  cordially  concur. 

One  of  the  most  painful  things,  allow  me  to  say 
fraternally,  in  your  Letter,  is  the  low  view  of  the 
natural  rights  of  mankind,  which  pervades  the  dis- 
cussion. I  fully  acknowledge  the  difficulties  of  eman- 
cipation, and  most  truly  sympathize  with  my  breth- 
ren, in  Church  and  State,  who  are  involved  in  the 
evils  of  this  complicated  system.  But  if  we  lose  sight 
of,  or  depreciate  principles,  difficulties  and  dangers 
will  increase  on  every  side.  Are  there  no  eternal 
principles  of  justice,  no  standard  of  human  rights,  by 
which  a  system  of  servitude  shall  submit  to  be  judged, 
and  in  whose  presence  it  shall  be  made  to  plead  for 


ON    SLAYBHOLDIN6.  305 

justification?  Is  civil  liberty  a  mere  abstraction? 
Thanks  be  to  God,  the  Presbyterian  Church  has  been 
the  advocate  of  freedom  in  every  land  and  age.  Long 
may  she  maintain  this  position  of  truth  and  righteous- 
ness, in  the  spirit  of  good-will  to  all  men,  bond  and 
free ;  and  whilst  she  holds  that  slavery  is  not  neces- 
sarily and  in  all  circumstances  sinful,  may  her  testi- 
mony against  the  evils  of  the  system,  and  in  favour 
of  emancipation,  be  clear,  consistent,  and  unwaver- 
ing, before  God  and  the  world ! 

Presbyterians  at  the  North  have  remained  stead- 
fast in  their  integrity,  amidst  all  the  abolition  agita- 
tion which  has  threatened  injury,  and  even  destruction, 
to  the  Church.  We  have  deprecated  this  agitation, 
not  simply  on  account  of  its  own  perverse  nature, 
but  on  account  of  its  evil  influence  in  provoking  ex- 
treme views  among  our  brethren  at  the  South.  The 
northern  section  of  the  Church,  by  its  successful 
resistance  to  fanaticism,  earnestly  and  fraternally 
appeals  to  the  Presbyterians  at  the  South,  to  remain 
equally  true  to  the  principles  and  the  testimonies 
sanctioned  by  the  unanimous  voice  of  our  General 
Assemblies,  and  by  the  higher  authority  of  the  Sacred 

Scriptures. 

I  am  yours,  truly, 

C.  Van  Rensselaer. 

26*  u 


306  PKESBYTEK  I  AX     V  I  1    W   S 


ARTICLE    III. 

ON   THE   HISTORICAL   ARGUMENT   FOR   SLAV  KIM. 

To  the  Rev.  George  D.  Armstrong,  D.D. : 
History  teaches  important  lessons  ;  but  I  have  seve- 
ral objections  to  the  historical  view  presented  in  your 
letter  as  the  basis  of  instruction. 

1.  One  of  the  forms  of  historical  statement,  liable 
to  misconception,  is  that  the  Apostles  maintained 
without  qualification,  that  "  slaveliolding  is  not  <t  sin." 
This  mode  of  stating  the  doctrine  is  not,  in  my  opi- 
nion, precisely  scriptural.  It  leaves  the  impression 
that  slavery  is,  always  and  everywhere,  a  lawful  in- 
stitution. All  that  the  Scriptures  authorize  us  to 
affirm,  as  I  have  endeavored  to  show  in  my  first  letter, 
is  that  slaveholding  is  not  a  malum  in  se,  or  in  other 
words,  that  it  is  right  or  wrong,  according  to  circum- 
stances. As  this  point  lies  at  the  basis  of  your  his- 
torical sketch,  I  have  deemed  it  important  to  notice 
it  at  the  very  beginning. 

2.  In  the  second  place,  the  assertion  that  "  slavery 
continued  to  exist  everywhere"  is  no  evidence  that 
Christianity  everywhere  approved  of  it.  Despotism 
and  war  prevailed  in  early  times ;  and  although  they 
still  continue  to  exist  throughout  the  world,  the  spirit 


ON     SLAVEHOLDING.  307 

of  true  religion  has  always  been  in  opposition  to  their 
perpetuity.  The  simple  fact  of  the  long  continuance 
of  such  an  institution  as  slavery  cannot  be  inter- 
preted into  a  divine  warrant. 

3.  In  the  third  place,  your  historical  statement  en- 
tirely overlooks  the  early  influence  of  Christianity 
upon  slavery. 

The  religion  of  Christ  was.  for  a  long  period,  sub- 
jected to  fierce  persecutions,  and  rejected  from  the 
councils  of  the  Eoman  Empire.  When  it  finally 
secured  a  temporary  triumph  under  Constantine,  cor- 
ruption almost  simultaneously  began  its  work.  There 
are,  nevertheless,  many  evidences  of  an  advancing 
social  and  political  movement,  in  the  mitigation  of 
the  evils  of  slavery,  and  in  the  measures  of  emanci- 
pation. From  the  first,  "  the  humane  spirit  of  our 
religion  struggled  with  the  customs  and  manners  of 
this  world,  and  contributed,  more  than  any  other  cir- 
cumstance, to  introduce  the  practice  of  manumis- 
sion."1 Christianity  ameliorated  the  condition  of 
slaves  under  the  Roman  Government,  inclined  Con- 
stantine  to  render  their  emancipation  much  easier 
than  formerly,  and  awakened  a  religious  interest  in 
the  subject.  "As  slaves  were  formerly  declared  to 
be  emancipated  in  the  temple  of  the  goddess  Feronia. 
so  afterwards,  in  accordance  with  the  decrees  of  Con- 
st antine,  they  were  throughout  the  Roman  Empire, 

1  Robertson. 


308  PRESBYTERIAN    VIEWS 

set  free  in  the  churches."  '  Sozomen,  speaking  of  Con- 
stantine,  says  :  "  In  reference  to  the  bestowment  of 
the  better  liberty  (viz.,  Roman  citizenship),  he  laid 
down  these  laws,  decreeing  that  all,  emancipated  in 
the  Church  under  the  direction  of  the  priests,  should 
enjoy  Roman  citizenship." 2  The  Church  sometimes 
paid  for  the  ransom  of  slaves,  especially  for  slaves  or 
captives  subjected  to  heathen  or  barbarian  masters. 
"  Out  of  the  legitimate  work  of  the  faithful,"  says 
the  Apostolic  Constitutions,  "  deliver  the  saints,  re- 
deem the  slaves,  the  captives," 3  etc.  Ignatius  alludes 
likewise  to  the  slaves  redeemed  at  the  expense  of  the 
community.4  Clement  of  Rome  also  speaks  of  Chris- 
tians who  carried  devotion  so  far  as  to  sell  themselves 
to  redeem  others  from  slavery.5 

Large  numbers  of  slaves  were  emancipated  in  the 
first  ages  of  Christianity.  One  of  our  own  distin- 
guished writers,  whose  position,  intellectual  habits, 
and  course  of  investigation  have  enabled  him  to  give 
much  attention  to  this  subject,  has  the  following  re- 
marks : 

"  Before  the  advent  of  Christianity,  no  axe  had  ever  been  laid 
at  the  root  of  slavery ;  no  philosopher  had  denounced  it,  and  it 
does  not  appear  to  have  been  considered  by  any  as  an  evil  to  be 
repressed.  Nor  did  the  apostles  teach  differently,  but  distinctly 
laid  down  rules  for  the  conduct  of  master  and  slave  ;  thereby 

1  Can.  64,  Cod.  Eccl.  Africanae. 

2  Sozomenus,  lib.  1 ;  Hist.  Eccl.  Chap.  ix.  3  IV.  9. 
4  Ep.  ad  Polyc.  c.  4.                                        5  1  Ep.  ad  Cor. 


ON     SLAVEHOLDING.  309 

clearly  recognizing  the  relation,  without  denouncing  it  as  in 
itself  sinful.  Their  Master's  instructions  were  intended  to  make 
men  what  they  should  be,  and  then  every  institution,  every  law, 
and  every  practice  inconsistent  with  that  state,  would  fall  before 
it.  If  a  community  of  slaveholders,  under  Christian  instruction, 
were  gradually  tending  to  the  point  of  general  emancipation, 
both  masters  and  slaves  would  gradually  be  fitting  for  so  great  a 
change  in  their  relative  condition.  It  would  be  a  subject  of 
great  interest  to  trace,  in  the  early  ages  of  Christianity,  its  in- 
fluences upon  the  institution  of  slavery,  so  much  in  contrast  with 
the  movements  or  influences  of  paganism.  During  the  first  four 
or  five  centuries  of  the  Christian  era,  emancipation  of  slaves  by 
converts  to  Christianity  took  place  upon  a  large  and  progres- 
sively increasing  scale,  and  continued  until  the  occurrence  of 
political  events,  the  invasion  of  barbarians,  and  other  causes, 
agitated  the  whole  Christian  world,  and  shook  the  very  founda- 
tions of  the  social  systems  in  which  Christianity  had  made  most 
progress.  When  Christianity  sank  into  the  darkness  of  the 
middle  ages,  the  progress  of  emancipation  ceased,  because  the 
influence  which  produced  it  ceased  during  that  period  to  operate. 
The  annals  of  emancipation  in  these  primitive  ages,  if  materials 
were  extant  for  a  full  narrative,  would  be  of  extraordinary  inte- 
rest, and  would  fully  reveal  the  effects  of  our  Saviour's  precepts 
when  brought  to  bear  upon  the  hearts  of  men  in  their  true  spirit. 
even  where  the  letter  did  not  apply.  Under  paganism,  slavery 
could  never  come  to  an  end  :  under  the  continual  light  of  Chris- 
tianity, it  hastens  to  an  inevitable  end,  but  by  that  progress  and 
in  that  mode  which  is  best  both  for  master  and  slave  :  both  being 
bound  to  love  each  other,  until  the  door  of  emancipation  is  fully 
open  without  injury  to  either."1 

In  addition  to  these  interesting  statements  from 
Mr.  Colwell,  I  offer  to  your  consideration  the  follow- 
ing extracts  from  the  admirable  work  of  the  Rev. 

1  New  Themes  for  the  Protestant  Clergy,  by  Stephen  Col- 
well, Esq. 


310  PRESBYTERIAN     VIEWS 

Stephen  Chastel,  of  Geneva,  011  the  "  Charity  of  the 
Primitive  Churches." ' 

"  Between  the  Christian  master  and  slave  was  no  religious  dis- 
tinction ;  they  came  into  the  same  sanctuary  to  invoke  the  same 
God,  to  pray,  to  sing  together,  to  participate  in  the  same  mys- 
teries, to  sit  at  the  same  table,  to  drink  of  the  same  cup,  and  to 
take  part  in  the  same  feast.  How  should  this  community  of  wor- 
ship not  have  profoundly  modified  their  mutual  relations  ?  How 
could  the  master  have  continued  to  see  in  his  slave  that  thing 
which  the  Roman  law  permitted  him  to  use  and  to  abuse  ?  Also, 
whatever  might  still  be  the  force  of  habit  and  of  manners,  there 
were  rarely  seen  in  the  Christian  houses  those  masters,  still  less 
those  pitiless  mistresses,  such  as  Seneca  and  Juvenal  have  painted 
to  us ;  the  slave,  there,  had  to  fear  neither  the  cross,  nor  tor- 
tures, nor  abandonment  in  sickness,  nor  to  be  thrown  off  in  his 
old  age  ;  he  had  not  to  fear  that  he  should  be  sold  for  the  am- 
phitheatre, or  for  some  one  of  those  infamous  occupations  which 
the  Church  reproved,  and  from  which  she  struggled,  at  every 
price,  to  rescue  her  children. 

"Finally,  a  devoted  and  faithful  slave  always  had,  in  a  Chris- 
tian house,  the  hope  of  recovering  his  liberty.  It  was  not  rare, 
without  doubt,  to  see  Pagans  enfranchise  their  slaves  ;  some  even 
did  it  from  motives  of  gratitude  or  attachment ;  but  ordinarily 
necessity,  caprice,  vanity,  often  even  the  most  sordid  calculations 
alone  presided  over  the  emancipation  of  slaves,  and  these  mise- 
rable creatures,  cast  almost  without  resource  into  the  midst  of  a 
society  whose  free  labour  found  so  little  encouragement  and  em- 
ployment, hardly  used  their  liberty  except  to  do  evil,  and  went 
for  the  most  part  to  increase  the  crowd  of  proletarians  and  of 
beggars,  so  that  it  is  not  astonishing  if  the  emperors  had  at- 
tempted, though  without  success,  to  limit,  by  their  laws,  the  right 
of  enfranchising.  As  to  the  Church,  when  she  encouraged  it,  it 
was  not  as  an  interest,  but  as  a  favour ;  she  exhorted  the  mas- 

1  Translated  by  Professor  Matile,  and  published  by  J.  B.  Lip- 
pincott  &  Co.,  Philadelphia,  1857. 


ON     SLAVE  HOLDING.  311 

ters  to  liberate  the  slave  as  often  as  he  was  in  a  state  to  support 
himself.  But  the  enfranchisement  was  not  an  abandonment ;  the 
Christian  remained  the  patron,  in  the  best  sense  of  that  word, 
of  those  whom  he  had  ceased  to  be  the  master  of,  and,  in  case 
of  misfortune,  the  freed  man  found  an  almost  sure  resource  in  the 
aid  of  his  brothers.  The  Church,  which,  by  its  moral  influence, 
had  worked  to  render  him  worthy  of  liberty,  continued  to  pro- 
tect him  after  he  had  attained  it.  The  emancipatiou  of  slaves, 
at  this  day,  would  be  less  difficult  and  less  dangerous  if  it  was 
always  done  in  this  spirit."1 

The  "correctness"  of  these  brief  accounts  of  the 
early  impression  of  Christianity  upon  slavery,  "  no 
one,  I  presume,  will  call  in  question ;"  and  they  stand 
in  delightful  contrast  with  the  injurious  and  unhis- 
torical  representations,  quoted  in  your  Letter  from 
Dr.  Hopkins,  Bishop  of  the  Episcopal  Church  of  Ver- 
mont. 

1.  I  take  exception  to  the  statement  that  slaves 

1  The  Church  has  been  thus  unjustly  accused  of  having,  by  the 
imprudence  of  her  emancipations  of  slaves,  caused  the  plague  of 
pauperism.  Manumission  had  been  used  with  much  less  discre- 
tion at  other  epochs  of  Roman  society.  The  one  hundred  thou- 
sand freedmen  who,  as  early  as  from  240  to  210  previous  to  our 
era,  had  been  admitted  to  the  privilege  of  citizenship,  the  slaves 
liberated  en  masse  by  the  alternating  politics  of  Marius  and  Sylla, 
the  thousands  of  them  who  under  the  republic  were  daily  liber- 
ated, either  by  will,  to  do  honour  to  the  funeral  of  their  master, 
or  by  necessity,  there  being  no  food  for  them,  or  by  revenge,  to 
defeat  the  eagerness  of  creditors  ;  all  those  freedmen,  finally, 
who  in  Cicero's  times  were  in  a  majority  in  the  urban  and  rural 
tribes  of  Rome,  formed  elements  much  more  threatening  to  the 
social  well-being  than  were  subsecmently  those  freed  by  charity. 
( Moreau-Christophe.  Du  pvobl.  de  la  miser e,  vol.  i.,  p.  80,  etc.) 


312  PRESBYTERIAN    VIEWS 

were  always  "held,  without  any  reproach,  even  by  tin 
bishops  and  clergy,"  down  to  the  period  of  the  aboli- 
tion of  slavery  in  Europe.  Undoubtedly,  slaves 
might  have  been  held,  without  any  reproach,  then  as 
now,  when  the  circumstances  of  society  and  the  wel- 
fare of  the  slaves  justified  the  continuance  of  tin- 
relation.  The  fact  that,  under  Constantine,  emanci- 
pation took  place  in  the  churches,  shows  that  the  act 
was  regarded  as  peculiarly  congenial  with  the  spirit 
and  principles  of  religion.  Ward,  in  his  Law  of  Na- 
tions, observes  that  "it  is  of  little  consequence  to 
object  that  the  custom  of  slavery  remained  for  a  great 
length  of  time,  or  that  the  Church  itself  was  possessed 
of  numbers  of  slaves.  The  custom  of  enfranchise- 
ment was  the  effect,  chiefly,  of  pious  and  Christian 
motives,  and  the  example  was  generally  set  by  the  min- 
isters of  religion!'' 

The  same  writer  observes,  in  reference  to  later 
times,  that,  "  in  the  opinion  of  Grotius,  Christianity 
was  the  great  and  almost  only  cause  of  abolition. 
The  professed  and  assigned  reasons  for  most  of  the 
charters  of  manumissions,  from  the  time  of  Gregory 
the  Great  [A.  D.  600]  to  the  thirteenth  century,  were 
the  religious  and  pious  considerations  of  the  fraternity 
of  men,  the  imitation  of  the  example  of  Christ,  the 
love  of  our  Maker,  and  the  hope  of  redemption. 
Enfranchisement  was  frequently  given  on  a  deathbed, 
as  the  most  acceptable  service  that  could  be  offered ; 


ON     SLAVEHOLDING.  313 

and  when  the  sacred  character  of  the  priesthood  came 
to  obtain  more  universal  veneration,  to  assume  its 
functions  teas  the  immediate  passport  to  freedom!'1 

History  does  not  at  all  warrant  the  assertion  that 
slaves  have  been  always  held  "without  any  reproach." 
From  the  earliest  period,  the  anomalous  character  of 
the  relation,  and  its  attending  evils,  have  been  re- 
corded on  the  impartial,  but  obscure  annals  of  the 
past.  Not  even  in  the  dark  middle  ages  was  slavery 
ranked  among  irreproachable  and  permanent  insti- 
tutions. 

5.  Another  error  in  your  historical  sketch  is,  that, 
when  the  practice  of  slavery  "died  out"  in  Europe, 
the  change  was  "through  the  operation  of  worldly 
causes."  It  is  surprising  that  two  bishops  of  the 
Church  should  agree  upon  a  statement,  disowning  the 
connection  between  Christianity  and  the  removal  of 
this  great  social  evil.  The  changes  introduced  into 
society,  in  the  progress  of  advancing  civilization,  have 
been  hitherto  ascribed  by  all  Christian  writers  to  the 
power  of  Christianity  itself.  But  in  the  nineteenth 
century,  the  theory  is  advanced,  that  "worldly causes," 
and  not  religion,  have  been  the  efficient  agents  in  the 
extinction  of  slavery  !  If  this  be  true  in  all  previous 
ages,  the  inference  is  that  it  will  be  so  in  all  time  to 
come.  This  is  a  "  short  and  easy  method  "  of  estab- 
lishing ultra  pro-slavery  doctrine.  But  is  the  state- 
ment true  ?  In  addition  to  the  testimony  already 
27 


314  PRESBYTERIAN     VIEWS 

adduced,  which  has  a  bearing  upon  this  point,  I  ven- 
ture to  ask  your  attention  to  the  following  remarks, 
contained  in  the  volumes  of  Mr.  Bancroft,  the  histo- 
rian. You  will  observe  the  prominence  given  to  reli- 
gion, by  this  distinguished  writer. 

"  In  defiance  of  severe  penalties,  the  Saxons  sold  their  own 
kindred  into  slavery  on  the  continent ;  nor  could  the  traffic  be 
checked,  till  religion,  pleading  the  cause  of  humanity,  made  its 
appeal  to  conscience."1 

"What  though  the  trade  was  exposed  to  the  censure  of  the 
Church,  and  prohibited  by  the  laws  of  Yenice  ?  It  could  not  be 
effectually  checked,  till,  by  the  Yenetian  law,  no  slave  might 
enter  a  Yenetian  ship,  and  to  tread  the  deck  of  an  argosy  of 
Yenice,  became  the  privilege  and  the  evidence  of  freedom." 

"  Tne  spirit  of  the  Christian  religion  would,  before  the  dis- 
covery of  America,  have  led  to  the  entire  abolition  of  the  slave 
trade,  but  for  the  hostility  between  the  Christian  Church  and  the 
followers  of  Mahomet.  In  the  twelfth  century,  Pope  Alexander 
III.,  true  to  the  spirit  of  his  office,  which,  during  the  supremacy 
of  brute  force  in  the  middle  ages,  made  of  the  chief  minister  of 
religion,  the  tribune  of  the  people  and  the  guardian  of  the  op- 
pressed, had  written,  that  'Nature  having  made  no  slaves,  all 
men  have  an  equal  right  to  liberty.'1  "2 

"The  amelioration  of  the  customs  of  Europe  had  proceeded 
from  the  influence  of  religion.  It  was  the  clergy  who  had  broken 
up  the  Christian  slave-markets  at  Bristol  and  at  Hamburg,  at 
Lyons  and  at  Rome.  At  the  epoch  of  the  discovery  of  Ame- 
rica, the  moral  opinion  of  the  civilized  world  had  abolished  the 
traffic  of  Christian  slaves ;  and  was  fast  demanding  the  emanci- 
pation of  the  serfs;  but  bigotry  had  favored  a  compromise  with 
avarice  ;  and  the  infidel  was  not  yet  included  within  the  pale  of 
humanity."3 

1  History  of  the  United  States,  i.  162. 

2  Ibid.,  163.  3  Ibid.,  165. 


ON     SLAVEHOLDING.  315 

"  The  slave-trade  between  Africa  and  America  was,  I  believe, 
never  expressly  sanctioned  by  the  See  of  Rome.  The  spirit  of 
the  Roman  Church  was  against  it.  Even  Leo  X.,  though  his 
voluptuous  life,  making  of  his  pontificate  a  continued  carnival, 
might  have  deadened  the  sentiments  of  humanity  and  justice,  de- 
clared, that  '  not  the  Christian  religion  only,  but  nature  herself, 
cries  out  against  the  state  of  slavery.'"1 

These  few  extracts  are  sufficient,  I  think,  to  prove 
that  something  more  than  "  worldly  causes "  have 
contributed  to  remove  slavery  from  European  civiliza- 
tion. As  long  as  Christianity  exists  upon  the  earth, 
and  the  consciences  of  its  disciples  are  enlightened 
by  the  Spirit,  a  power  will  always  be  at  work,  higher 
than  **  worldly  causes,"  tending  to  universal  emanci- 
pation. Even  these  "  worldly  causes,"  to  which  allu- 
sion is  made,  are  more  or  less  controlled  by  the  truth 
and  influences  of  the  Gospel. 

6.  I  turn  to  another  error,  viz. :  "  It  was  not  until 
the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century  that  a  doubt 
was  expressed,  on  either  side  of  the  Atlantic,  in  rela- 
tion to  the  perfect  consistency  of  slavery  with  the 
precepts  of  the  Gospel." 

If  I  mistake  not,  the  evidence,  already  adduced, 
will  occasion  very  serious  doubts  in  regard  to  the 
truth  of  the  proposition,  so  far  as  it  relates  to  the 
other  side  of  the  Atlantic.  Let  us,  for  the  present, 
consider  whether,  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic,  slavery 


1  History  of  the  United  States,  i.,  172. 


316  PRESBYTERIAN    VIEWS 

and  the  Gospel  were,  always  and  everywhere,  reckoned 
to  be  natural  allies. 

The  Puritans  did,  it  is  true,  consider  themselves 
justified  by  the  Old  Testament  in  retaining  Indian 
captives  as  bondsmen,  according  to  the  policy  of  tin- 
Israelites  towards  the  Pagan  nations.  The  Indian 
prisoners  were  few  in  number,  and  their  case  was  a 
perplexing  one.  We  do  not  justify  Puritan  reasoning 
on  this  subject ;  it  was  the  reasoning  of  the  day,  both 
in  Europe  and  in  other  parts  of  our  own  country.  At 
that  period,  even  white  men  were  sold  into  slavery  in 
Virginia.  In  the  midst  of  such  moral  obtuseness, 
there  were  not  wanting  some  signs  of  more  correct 
views  of  human  bondage,  in  New  England.  The  fol- 
lowing extracts  are  from  Mr.  Bancroft's  history.  The 
first  paragraph  relates  to  the  sailing  of  the  first  vessel, 
owned  in  part  by  a  member  of  the  Church  of  Boston, 
to  engage  in  the  slave-trade  : 

"  Throughout  Massachusetts,  the  cry  of  justice  was  raised 
against  the  owners  as  malefactors  and  murderers.  Richard  Sal- 
tonstall  felt  himself  moved  by  his  duty  as  a  magistrate,  to  de- 
nounce the  act  of  stealing  negroes  as  'expressly  contrary  to  the 
law  of  God  and  the  law  of  the  country;'  the  guilty  men  were 
committed  for  the  offence  ;  and,  after  advice  with  the  elders,  the 
representatives  of  the  people,  bearing  '  witness  against  the  hein- 
ous crimes  of  manstealing,'  ordered  the  negroes  to  be  restored,  at 
the  public  charge,  '  to  their  own  country,  with  a  letter  express- 
ing the  indignation  of  the  General  Court'  at  their  wrongs.'" 
[This  was  in  the  year  1646.] 

1  Bancroft's  History,  i.,  174. 


ON     SLA  VEHOLDING.  317 

"When  George  Fox  visited  Barbadoes,  in  1611,  he  enjoined 
it  upon  the  planters,  that  they  should  'deal  mildly  and  gently 
with  their  negroes  ;  and  that  after  certain  years  of  servitude, 
they  should  make  them  free.''  The  idea  of  George  Fox  had  been 
anticipated  by  the  fellow-citizens  of  Gorton  and  Roger  Williams. 
Nearly  twenty  years  had  then  elapsed  since  the  representatives 
of  Providence  and  Warwick,  perceiving  the  disposition  of  people 
in  the  colony  'to  buy  negroes,'  and  hold  them  '  as  slaves  forever,' 
had  enacted  that  no  '  black  mankind,''  should,  '  by  covenant,  bond, 
or  otherwise,-  be  held  to  perpetual  service;  the  master,  'at  the 
end  of  ten  years,  shall  set  them  free,  as  the  manner  is  with  Eng- 
lish servants;  and  that  man  that  will  not  let'  his  slave  'go  free, 
or  shall  sell  him  away,  to  the  end  that  he  may  be  enslaved  to 
others  for  a  longer  time,  shall  forfeit  to  the  colony  forty  pounds. 
Now,  forty  pounds  was  nearly  twice  the  value  of  a  negro  slave. 
The  law  was  not  enforced  ;  but  the  principle  lived  among  the 
people.'  "* 

"  The  thought  of  general  emancipation  early  presented  itself. 
Massachusetts,  where  the  first  planters  assumed  to  themselves  '  a 
right  to  treat  the  Indians  on  the  foot  of  Canaanites  and  Arnale- 
kites,'  was  always  opposed  to  the  introduction  of  slaves  from 
abroad;  and  in  1701,  the  town  of  Boston  instructed  its  repre- 
sentatives, '  to  put  a  period  to  negroes  being  slaves. ' " 2 

It  thus  appears  that,  up  to  the  beginning  of  the 
last  century,  there  was  a  great  deal  of  "doubt"  in 
New  England,  in  regard  to  "  the  perfect  consistency 
of  slavery  with  the  precepts  of  the  Gospel."  Public 
opinion,  however,  seems  to  have  afterwards  relapsed 
into  much  indifference,  until  near  the  period  of  the 
Revolution,  when  Dr.  Hopkins,  of  Newport,  published 
a  pamphlet  on  the  "  Slavery  of  the  Africans,  showing 
it  to  be  the  duty  of  the  American  Colonies  to  eman- 

1  Bancroft's  History,  i.,  174.  2  Ibid.,  iii.  408. 

27* 


318  PRESBYTERIAN    VIEWS 

cipate  all  the  African  slaves."  '  Dr.  Hopkins  apolo- 
gizes for  the  want  of  conscience  exhibited  in  New 
England  by  the  "ignorance"  of  the  owners  of  slaves; 
and  "although  this  has  been  a  very  criminal  igno- 
rance, yet  professors  of  religion,  and  real  Christians, 
may  have  lived  in  this  sin  through  an  ignorance  con- 
sistent with  sincerity,  and  so  as  to  be  acceptable  to 
God,  through  Jesus  Christ,  in  their  devotions,"  etc. 
Public  attention  now  became  much  directed  to  slavery, 
both  at  the  North  and  at  the  South. 

The  southern  colonies  had  repeatedly  remonstrated 
against  the  slave-trade.  Judge  Tucker,  in  his  Notes 
on  Blackstone,  has  collected  a  list  of  no  less  than 
twenty-three  acts,  passed  by  Virginia,  having  in  view 
the  repression  of  the  importation  of  slaves.  The 
motives  were  various,  political  as  well  as  moral.  In 
1772,  Virginia  sent  a  petition  to  the  throne,  declaring, 
among  other  things,  that  "  the  importation  of  slaves 
into  the  colonies  from  the  coast  of  Africa,  hath  long 
been  considered  a  trade  of  great  inhumanity." 

7.  A  very  serious  error  in  your  letter,  consists  in 
attributing  to  Infidelity  the  awakened  interest  in 
Great  Britain  and  the  United  States,  in  the  suppres- 
sion of  the  slave-trade  and  the  abolition  of  slavery. 

As  if  "worldly  causes"  were  not  low  enough  to 
account  for  the  extinction  of  domestic  servitude,  Infi- 

1  Published  in  1776. 


OX     SLAVEHOLDIXG.  319 

delity  is  summoned  from  the  depths,  as  another  ruling 
; i gent.  This  part  of  the  solution  of  the  question  is 
your  own,  to  which  the  instructions  of  Bishop  Hop- 
kins, allow  me  to  say,  naturally  tended. 

I  ask  your  attention  to  the  fact,  that  the  period  in 
which  the  greatest  masters  of  Infidelity  were  promi- 
nent actors,  was  the  very  period  in  which  the  slave- 
trade  was  carried  on  with  the  greatest  energy,  and 
the  conscience  of  the  whole  world  slumbered  most 
profoundly  over  emancipation.  From  the  }'ear  1700, 
till  the  American  Revolution,  more  negroes  had  been 
exported  from  Africa  than  ever  before.  During  this 
interval,  lived  Shaftesbury,  Bolingbroke,  Hume,  Vol- 
taire, Rousseau,  and  the  French  Encyclopaedists, 
great  and  small.  Mr.  Bancroft  remarks,  with  his 
usual  historical  accuracy :  "  The  philosophy  of  that 
day  furnished  to  the  African  no  protection  against 
oppression."  England,  under  the  ministry  of  Boling- 
broke, and  his  successors  in  office,  openly  advocated 
the  slave-trade.  It  was  a  time  of  infidelity,  of  Arian 
and  Deistical  encroachment,  and  of  ecclesiastical 
domination.  It  was  a  fit  time  for  the  climax  of 
the  slave-trade. 

"  Loud  and  perpetual  o'er  the  Atlantic  waves, 
.    For  guilty  ages,  rolled  the  tide  of  slaves ; 
A  tide  that  knew  no  fall,  no  turn,  no  rest  — 
Constant  as  day  and  night,  from  East  to  West, 
Still  wid'ning,  deep'ning,  swelling  in  its  course, 
With  boundless  ruin  and  resistless  force.'' 


320  PRESBYTERIAN    VIEWS 

This  state  of  active  kidnapping  in  Africa,  received 
its  first  check,  not  from  Infidelity,  but  from  the  reli- 
gion and  patriotism  of  the  confederated  Colonies  of 
North  America.  The  delegates  in  Congress,  without 
being  specially  empowered  to  do  so,  passed  and  pro- 
mulgated, on  the  6th  of  April,  1776,  several  months 
before  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  a  resolution, 
that  no  slaves  should  be  imported  into  the  Confedera- 
tion. Thus  did  Christianity  and  Liberty  triumph 
over  wickedness  and  crime. 

The  Northern  States  soon  began  to  legislate  in 
favour  of  emancipation.  Under  the  impulses  of  a 
quickened  sense  of  religious  obligation,  and  of  politi- 
cal consistency,  slavery  was  undermined  at  the  North. 
Much  feeling  also  existed  against  the  institution  at 
the  South,  especially  in  Virginia,  where  the  intro- 
duction of  an  Emancipation  Act  into  the  Legisla- 
ture was  seriously  contemplated,  after  the  slave- 
trade  was  prohibited.  It  was  never  understood  that 
Infidelity,  as  such,  had  any  agency  in  these  philan- 
thropic measures  throughout  the  country.  Where 
religion  failed  to  be  prominent,  patriotism  supplied 
the  motives  of  benevolent  action.  All  the  public 
documents  of  the  day  testify  to  the  truth  of  this  view 
of  the  subject. 

The  philanthropists  of  England,  moved  by  equally 
pure  and  disinterested  motives,  aimed  at  the  abo- 
lition of  the  slave-trade,  simultaneously  with  their 


ON     S-LAVEHOLDING.  OZ 1 

brethren  in  America.     Granville  Sharp,  Wilberforce, 
Newton,  Thornton,  Scott,  Macaulay,  and  their  noble 
coadjutors,  were  among  the  foremost  of  the  religious 
men  of  their  age.     Seldom,  indeed,  has  Christianity 
claimed  a  higher  triumph  in  the  history  of  civiliza- 
tion, than  when  acts  were  passed  for  the  abolition  of 
the  African   slave-trade,  and  public  measures  were 
inaugurated  for  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  America, 
and  elsewhere.     The  religious  world  will  be  surprised 
to  learn  from  Dr.  Armstrong  that  Infidelity  was  the 
chief  agent,  whose  culminating  point  was  West  In- 
dian emancipation,  under  the  auspices  of  England ! 
Call  West  Indian  Emancipation   a  blunder,  if  you 
will — a  political  mistake,  a  social  wrong,  a  moral  im- 
becility— but  hesitate,  before  the  earnest  philanthropy 
of  Christian  England,  in  behalf  of  injured  Africa,  and 
the  rights  of  mankind,  is  stigmatized  with  the  taint 
of  infidel  inception  and  success.1 

Your  whole  theory  on  this  subject  is  utterly  un- 
tenable. You  might  as  well  attempt  to  prove  that 
the  infidel  philosophy  on  the  subject  of  civil  govern- 
ment had  its  culminating  triumph  in  the  formation  of 
the  American  Constitution,  as  that  the  revived  inte- 
rest, in  America  and  England,  in  the  abolition  of 
slavery,  is  indebted  to  the  same  low  source  for  life 

1  For  one,  I  have  not  yet  lost  all  confidence  in  the  wisdom  of 
this  measure. 

V 


322  PRESBYTERIAN     VIEWS 

and  power.  Washington,  the  representative  man  of 
his  age,  was  a  true  representative  of  the  Christianity 
and  patriotism  of  his  country,  when  in  his  last  will 
and  testament,  he  placed  on  record  his  views  of  the 
rights  of  mankind,  and  gave  freedom  to  all  his  slaves. 

8.  Another  historical  error  in  your  letter,  is  the 
declaration  that  good  men,  like  Dr.  Scott,  have  insi- 
diously betrayed  scriptural  truth  by  erroneous  expo- 
sitions, and  thus  prepared  the  way  for  the  most  vio- 
lent abolitionism. 

1  think,  in  the  first  place,  that  you  do  injustice  to 
Dr.  Scott  by  an  erroneous  t;  exposition  "  of  his  views. 
That  able  and  judicious  commentator  does  not  say. 
or  mean,  that  the  Christian  master  should  "greatly 
alleviate  or  nearly  annihilate,"  any  evil  which  con- 
cerns his  behaviour  "  to  his  servants."  This  is  Dr. 
Armstrong's  own  "  gloss."  Dr.  Scott  says,  that  "  Chris- 
tian masters  were  instructed  to  behave  towards  their 
slaves  in  such  a  manner  as  would  greatly  alleviate, 
or  nearly  annihilate  the  evils  of  slave)-)/"  The  com- 
mentator well  knew  that,  however  exemplary  might 
be  the  conduct  of  "  Christian  masters  "  towards  their 
own  slaves,  on  their  own  plantations,  some  of  the 
"  evils  of  slavery,"  as  a  system,  would  still  remain  in 
existence. 

If  Dr.  Scott,  in  his  other  remarks,  intended  to 
express  the  opinion  that  the  Apostles  considered 
slavery  to  be  in  itself  sinful,  but  were  restrained  by 


ON     SLAVE  HOLDING.  323 

prudential  considerations  from  enjoining  emancipa- 
tion, he  was  certainly  wrong.  It  is  probable  that  he 
merely  intended  to  vindicate,  on  general  principles, 
the  true  scriptural  plan.  However  that  may  be,  he 
was  correct,  when  he  added  that  "  the  principles  of 
both  the  law  and  the  Gospel,  when  carried  to  their 
consequences,  will  infallibly  abolish  slavery."  Was 
he  not  authorized,  in  expounding  Scripture,  to  give 
what  he  conceived  to  be  the  full  meaning  of  the  pas- 
sage ?  Dr.  Hodge,  in  like  manner,  says  in  his  com- 
mentary on  Ephesians,  6:5:  "  The  scriptural  doc- 
trine is  opposed  to  the  opinion  that  slavery  is  in  itself 
a  desirable  institution,  and  as  such  to  be  cherished 
and  perpetuated." 

Mr.  Barnes's  remarks,  which  you  quote,  I  agree 
with  you  in  repudiating.  But  he  is  as  far  from  being 
an  infidel  as  Dr.  Scott.  If  Mr.  Barnes  goes  a  "  bow- 
shot beyond  Dr.  Scott,"  I  think  that,  in  regard  to  the 
connivance  of  either  with  Infidelity,  you  draw  a  bow 
"  at  a  venture." 

Dr.  Scott's  commentaries  were  published  in  1796. 
They  have  certainly  had  little  influence  in  imposing 
Anti-slavery  opinions  upon  the  Presbyterian  Church. 
As  far  back  as  1787,  our  highest  judicatory  uttered 
stronger  declarations  than  are  to  be  found  in  those 
commentaries.  The  Synod  declared  that  it  "  highly 
approved  of  the  general  principles  in  favour  of  uni- 
versal liberty  that  prevail  in  America,  and  the  interest 


324  PRESBYTERIAN     VIEWS 

which  many  of  the  States  have  taken  in  promoting 
the  abolition  of  slavery''' 

Commentators,  from  the  days  of  Dr.  Scott,  onward, 
naturally  noticed  the  subject  of  slavery  in  its  relation 
to  Scripture,  more  than  their  predecessors.  So  far  as 
their  commentaries  are  erroneous,  they  are  to  be  con- 
demned. Each  is  to  be  judged  by  himself.  I  do  not 
believe  in  the  philosophical  or  infidel  succession  you 
have  attempted  to  establish. 

9.  A  brief  sketch  of  ultra  Pro-slavery  opinions  may 
be  fairly  given  as  an  offset  to  the  Anti-slavery  history 
of  your  Letter. 

Previous  to  the  formation  of  the  American  Consti- 
tution, public  opinion,  in  this  country,  had  been 
gathering  strength,  adversely  to  the  slave-trade  and 
slavery.  The  first  legislature  of  the  State  of  Virginia 
prohibited  the  importation  of  Africans ;  and  some  of 
her  most  distinguished  public  men  were  unfavourable, 
not  only  to  the  increase,  but  even  to  the  continuance 
of  slavery  within  her  borders.  The  Congress  of  the 
old  Confederation,  with  the  unanimous  consent  of  all 
the  Southern  as  well  as  Northern  States,  provided,  in 
1787,  that  slavery  should  be  forever  excluded  from 
the  Northwest  Territory,  which  territory  then  con- 
stituted the  whole  of  the  public  domain.  In  the  same 
year,  the  framers  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  enacted  that  the  African  slave-trade  should 
cease  in  1808,  so  far  as  the  "existing  States"  were 


ON     SLAVEHOLDING.  325 

concerned ;  reserving  to  Congress  the  right  to  pro- 
hibit it  before  that  time  in  new  States  or  Territories 
—  a  right  which  Congress  exercised  in  1804,  by  pro- 
hibiting the  importation  of  Africans  into  the  new 
Territory  of  Orleans. 

Daniel  Webster,  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States, 
affirmed  that  two  things  "  are  quite  clear  as  historical 
truths.  One  is,  that  there  was  an  expectation  that, 
on  the  ceasing  of  the  importation  of  slaves  from 
Africa,  slavery  would  begin  to  run  out  here.  That  was 
hoped  and  expected.  Another  is,  that  as  far  as  there 
was  any  power  in  Congress  to  prevent  the  spread  of 
slavery  in  the  United  States,  that  power  was  executed 
in  the  most  absolute  manner,  and  to  the  fullest  extent. 
.  .  .  .  But  opinion  has  changed — greatly  changed 
— changed  North  and  changed  South.  Slavery  is  not 
regarded,  at  the  South  now,  as  it  was  then." l  Without 
carrying  this  sketch  into  the  details  of  modern  party 
politics,  which  would  be  foreign  to  my  purpose,  it  is 
sufficient  to  note  that  this  change  of  sentiment,  at 
the  South,  has  grown  more  and  more  marked,  down 
to  the  present  time.  Even  the  project  of  reviving  the 
African  slave-trade  has  been  recently  entertained  in 

1  Mr.  Webster  emphatically  stated,  in  the  same  speech,  that, 
at  the  formation  of  the  Constitution,  "there  was,  if  not  an  entire 
unanimity  of  sentiment,  a  general  concurrence  of  sentiment  run- 
ning through  the  whole  community,  and  especially  entertained 
by  the  eminent  men  of  all  parts  of  the  country,"  on  this  subject. 

28 


326  PRESBYTERIAN     VIEWS 

the  legislatures  of  several  States.  Slavery  is  now 
publicly  advocated  as  a  desirable  and  permanent  insti- 
tution, having  a  complete  justification  in  the  word  of 
God.  Its  advocacy  is,  by  others,  placed  on  the  infidel 
ground  of  the  original  diversity  of  races.  In  fact,  is 
not  Infidelity  as  busily  engaged  in  vindicating,  and 
propping  up,  ultra  pro-slavery  opinions  at  the  South, 
as  it  has  ever  been  in  agitating  its  untruths,  at  the 
North?1  There  is  little  religion  in  either  extreme. 
It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  tendency  on  both  sides  of 
the  question  to  a  change  from  bad  to  worse,  will  be 
arrested  in  the  good  providence  of  God. 

10.  Your  historical  sketch  errs  in  reducing  all  op- 
position to  slavery  to  the  same  category. 

A  history  of  Anti-slavery  opinions  requires  careful 
discrimination,  in  order  to  do  justice  to  all  parties. 
The  "conservatives"  differ  fundamentally  from  the 
ultra  faction,  which  denounces  slaveholding  as  neces- 
sarily sinful,  and  which  accepts  no  solution  but  im- 
mediate and  universal  emancipation.  Nor  do  they, 
or  can  they,  sympathize  with  the  equally  fanatical 
opinions  on  the  other  side.  We  profess  to  maintain 
the  firm,  scriptural  ground,  occupied  by  our  Church 
from  the  beginning.     Presbyterians  at  the  North  have 

1  It  is  well  known,  that  the  infidel  publication  of  Gliddon  and 
Agassiz,  one  of  whose  principal  aims  is  to  prove  that  the  negro 
is  not  a  descendant  of  Adam,  has  had  au  extensive  circulation  in 
the  Southern  States. 


OX     SLAVEHOLDING.  327 

been  enabled,  under  God,  to  uphold  the  testimonies 
of  the  General  Assembly  in  their  incorrupt  integrity. 
Will  not  our  brethren  at  the  South  appreciate  our 
position,  and  the  service  we  have  rendered  to  morals 
and  religion  ?  Your  historical  sketch  confounds  all 
varieties  of  opinion  in  opposition  to  the  permanence 
of  slavery,  and  reduces  them  to  one  common  prin- 
ciple of  evil.  Omission,  under  such  circumstances, 
is  commission.  It  inflicts  an  injury  upon  your  truest 
friends ;  and  more,  it  disparages  the  cause  of  truth 
and  righteousness.  Far  be  it  from  me  to  impute  to 
you  any  intention  of  this  kind.  On  the  contrary,  I 
am  sure  that  you  will  gladly  rectify  the  inadvertence. 
I  rejoice  in  the  belief  that  the  Presbyterian  Church 
is  substantially  united  on  the  fundamental  principles 
involved  in  this  question.  If  any  danger  should  here- 
after threaten  our  unity,  it  will  arise  from  the  extreme 
advocates  of  slavery.  So  far  as  I  have  any  personal 
knowledge  of  my  brethren  in  the  Southern  section 
of  the  Church,  or  have  observed  their  proceedings  in 
the  General  Assembly,  I  have  yet  to  learn  that  they 
are  disposed  to  depart  from  our  ancient  Presbyterian 
testimonies.  Few  persons,  on  either  side,  seem  in- 
clined to  adopt  extreme  opinions.  Various  statements 
in  your  Letters  have  excited,  perhaps  unreasonably, 
the  apprehension  of  a  tendency  in  them  to  create  and 
cherish  divisions.  One  of  the  impressions,  derived 
from  the  perusal  of  your  third  Letter,  is  that  slave rv 


328  PRESBYTERIAN    VIEWS 

is  fortified  by  the  Bible  and  the  Church,  and  that  the 
institution  would  be  safe  enough  in  perpetuity,  if 
•'worldly  causes"  would  keep  in  the  right  direction, 
and  Infidelity  cease  its  assaults.  Your  historical  ac- 
count is,  at  least,  so  apologetical,  that  it  may  con- 
ciliate, and  even  stimulate,  the  ultra  defenders  <.i' 
slavery. 

You  rightly  suggest  that  error  has  an  insidious  be- 
ginning. It  is  on  this  principle,  doubtless,  that  ultra 
men  at  the  North,  and  at  the  South,  have  succeeded 
in  accomplishing  much  injury.  The  "classic  story" 
of  the  fall  of  Troy,  by  means  of  the  wooden  horse 
filled  with  Grecian  enemies,  affords  an  instructive 
lesson.  The  enemies  without  the  city  would  have 
built  that  structure  in  vain,  if  leaders  within  the  city 
had  not  brought  it  through  the  walls.  It  is  through 
the  breaches,  made  by  Christian  chieftains,  that  Infi- 
delity is  drawn  into  our  citadel.  Extreme  views,  on 
either  side,  combine  to  overthrow  the  true  doctrine 
of  the  Church. 

It  may  be  affirmed,  without  boasting,  and  in  hum- 
ble gratitude  to  God,  that  the  Presbyterian  Church 
occupies  a  commanding  position,  at  the  present  time, 
among  the  hosts  of  God's  elect.  Our  declared  prin- 
ciples on  slavery,  emancipation,  and  Christian  fellow- 
ship will  endure  the  scrutiny,  and  at  last  command 
the  admiration  of  the  world.  Unterrified  by  North- 
ern fanaticism,  and  unseduced  by  Southern,  Presby- 


ON     SLAVEHOLDING.  329 

terians  behold  their  banner  floating  peacefully  over 

their  ancient  ramparts.     With  continued    unity  in 

our  councils,  the  cause  of  philanthropy  and  religion 

will,  under  God,  be  safe  in  our  charge,  and  be  handed 

down  with  increasing  victories,  from   generation  to 

generation. 

I  am  yours  fraternally, 

C.  Van  Rensselaer, 


28 


o30  PRESBYTERIAN     VIEWS 


ARTICLE    IV. 

ON  THE  PROPER  STATEMENT   OF  THE   SCRIPTURAL   DOC- 
TRINE OF  SLAVERY. 

To  the  Rev.  George  D.  Armstrong,  D.D. : 

An  amicable  discussion  of  slavery,  instead  of  sug- 
gesting to  you  "  the  dark  and  bloody  ground "  of 
Kentucky,  with  its  scenes  of  savage  warfare,  only  re- 
quired our  presence  on  the  field  of  scriptural  truth. 
The  appearance  of  brother  Armstrong,  with  rifle  in 
hand,  is  not  a  pleasant  clerical  sight,  introduced  by 
the  law  of  association  into  the  perspective ;  nor  is  it 
a  very  terrible  one,  for  I  have  discovered  that,  even 
with  the  aim  of  so  good  a  marksman  as  himself,  a 
rifle-shot  is  "  not  necessarily  and  in  all  circumstances" 
exact. 

Your  allusion  to  "  the  shrieks  for  freedom  "  is  the 
first  political  allusion  made  in  our  discussion,  and  this 
footprint  upon  the  "  dark  and  bloody  ground,"  lead- 
ing into  a  trail  of  the  wilderness,  I  respectfully  de- 
cline to  follow. 

Your  remark  that  sections  and  divisions  "  secure 
perspicuity  "  and  "  guard  against  misapprehension,"  is 
a  very  good  one. 


ON     SLAVEHOLDING.  331 

SECTION    I. DR.    ARMSTRONG    ADMITS    THE    TRUTH    OF    MY 

GENERAL    PROPOSITION. 

The  issue  between  us  is  whether  my  proposition 
that  "  slaveholding  is  not  necessarily  and  in  all  cir- 
cumstances sinful,"  is  liable  to  just  exception  as  an 
inexact,  or  inadequate,  expression  of  the  scriptural 
doctrine  in  the  premises ;  or  whether  your  proposition 
that  "  slaveholding  is  not  a  sin  in  the  sight  of  God  " 
is  more  accurate  and  complete.  The  characteristic 
difference  in  the  phraseology  of  the  two  propositions 
is  that  mine  has  a  special  reference  to  circumstances, 
whilst  you  deny  the  right  to  admit  them.  Your  own 
incidental  concessions  decide  that  the  introduction  of 
circumstances  is  right  and  necessary. 

§  1.  You  expressly  declare,  among  the  articles  of 
your  faith  on  this  subject,  that  "  slavery  is  expedient 
or  inexpedient,  right  or  wrong,  according  to  circum- 
stances." p.  68.  I  have  substituted,  as  you  permit, 
"  slavery  "  for  "  civil  despotism ;"  and  here  I  find  my 
own  proposition  written  down  as  true  by  Dr.  Arm- 
strong, under  "  circumstances "  quite  remarkable  in 
an  objector.  I  am  aware  that  you  maintain  that  this 
doctrine  is  not  deducible  entirely  from  Scripture,  but 
that  it  is  partly  deducible  from  reason,  and  includes 
a  political  view.  This  point  I  shall  examine  pre- 
sently. All  that  I  desire  you  to  notice  now,  is  that 
my  proposition,  irrespective  of  the  mode  of  its  proof, 
is  really  the  true  one,  by  your  own  admission. 


332  PRESBYTERIAN    VIEWS 

§  2.  In  your  original  Letter,  you  deny  that  "  all 
slaveholding  is  sinless  in  the  sight  of  God."  Of 
course,  some  slaveholding  is  sinfid ;  and  what  but  cir- 
cumstances must  determine  its  character?  You  also 
explicitly  declare  that,  "when  we  state  the  proposi- 
tion, that  slaveholding  is  not  a  sin  in  the  sight  of 
God,  it  can  apply  to  such  slaveholding  only  as  sub- 
sists in  conformity  with  the  law  of  God."  pp.  11  and 
12.  Here  again,  do  not  circumstances  decide  whether 
it  is  justifiable  or  not  ? 

§  3.  You,  over  and  over,  admit,  in  your  last  Letter, 
that  slavery  classes  with  the  adiaphora,  or  things  in- 
different. Civil  despotism,  or  slavery,  "belongs  in 
morals  to  the  adiwphora,  or  things  indifferent;"  pp. 
68,  69,  72.  Now  the  characteristic,  formal  nature  of 
such  things  is  that  they  are  not  per  se,  or  necessarily 
and  in  all  circumstances,  either  right  or  wrong,  but 
that  they  may  be  either  right  or  wrong  according  to 
circumstances. 

With  all  these  admissions  in  favour  of  my  form  of 
statement,  made  so  clearly  and  palpably  by  yourself, 
it  would  be  difficult  to  see  what  opening  you  leave 
for  further  assaults  upon  it,  were  it  not  for  a  distinc- 
tion you  set  up  between  the  scriptural  and  the  whole 
view  of  the  subject,  which  I  shall  proceed  to  examine. 
It  is  a  great  point  gained,  when  Dr.  Armstrong  plainly 
concedes  that  the  whole,  or  complete  view  of  the  sub- 


OX     SLA  YE  HOLDING.  333 

ject  demands  the  introduction  of  -'circumstances," 
which  is  the  chief  point  in  dispute  between  us. 

SECTION    II. — DR.  ARMSTRONG   ON    POLITICS  ;    DISTINCTION 
BETWEEN    SCRIPTURE    AND    REASON,    ETC. 

The  distinction  you  make  between  the  scriptural 
and  the  political  relations  of  the  subject  is  one  of  the 
two  significant  points  of  your  Rejoinder. 

§  1.  Whilst  my  proposition  is  admitted  to  be  right, 
in  view  of  the  combined  testimony  of  Scripture  and 
reason,  you  maintain  that  Scripture  alone  does  not 
authorize  it,     Is  not  this,  in  effect,  saying  that  the 
Bible  is  not  a  sufficient  rule  of  faith  and  practice  on 
the  subject  of  slavery  ?     Mark ;  we  are  not  now  dis- 
cussing any  of  the  questions  of  capital  and  labour,  or 
any  State  plans  of  general  emancipation.     The  ques- 
tion before  us  is  one  concerning  our  relations  to  God. 
It  is  the  case,  we  will  suppose,  of  a   slaveholding 
member  of  your  own  church,  whose  conscience  is  agi- 
tated by  the  question  of  duty  in  regard  to  his  slaves. 
Has  he  any  other  guidance  for  the  general  principles 
of  his  conduct,  than  his  Bible  ?     Can  he  go  to  the 
laws  of  the  State  for  peace   of  mind?     Or  can  his 
reason  supply  any  light  which  has  not  its  source  in 
revelation  ?     Do  you  say  that  this  is  not  a  question 
of  morals?     I   reply  that  you  yourself  admit   that 
slavery  "  belongs  in  morals  to  the  adiaphora."     If  so, 
it  must  be  brought  to  the  test  of  God's  word,  as  inter- 


334  PRESBYTERIAN     VIEWS 

preted  by  the  best  use  of  reason.  On  such  a  ques- 
tion as  this,  we  cannot  say,  "  this  part  of  the  doctrine 
comes  from  revelation,  and  that  part  from  reason,"  or 
"  slavery  is  right  according  to  Scripture,  but  right  or 
wrong  according  to  politics."  What  we  are  aiming 
at  is  a  general  formula,  embracing  the  moral  prin- 
ciples by  which  slavery  can  be  judged.  And  human 
reason,  making  its  deductions  from  the  general  spirit, 
principles,  and  precepts  of  Scripture,  deduces  the 
whole  doctrine,  which  has  the  authority  of  "  Thus 
saith  the  Lord."  According  to  your  view,  reason  is 
an  independent  source  of  authority,  going  beyond  the 
word  of  God,  on  this  practical  moral  question  ;  whilst 
I  maintain  that  reason  finds  in  the  Word  of  God  the 
moral  elements  for  the  determination  of  duty,  and 
must  gather  up  the  results  of  scriptural  declarations 
with  all  care,  and  with  subjection  to  the  Divine  au- 
thority. The  great  error  of  the  abolitionists  consists 
in  running  wild  with  your  doctrine,  and  they  under- 
take to  declare  by  "  reason  "  even  what  the  Scriptures 
ought  to  teach. 

§  2.  Your  own  declarations  in  regard  to  despotism 
and  slavery,  which  we  both  place  in  the  same  cate- 
gory, show  that  the  Scriptures  actually  cover  the  en- 
tire subject.  You  state,  on  p.  69,  and  also  80,  that 
"the  doctrines  of  passive  obedience,"  and  of  "the 
Divine  right  of  kings,"  are  not  implied  in  the  scrip- 
tural injunctions  to  obey  the  powers  that  be,  and  to 


ON     SLAVEHOLDING.  335 

submit  to  every  ordinance  of  man,  for  the  Lord's 
sake.  That  is  to  say,  3~ou  admit  that  passive  obedi- 
ence is  not  a  scriptural  doctrine,  or,  in  other  words, 
that  civil  revolution  is  authorized,  under  certain  cir- 
cumstances, by  the  word  of  God.  This  is  the  doc- 
trine our  fathers  taught  and  preached  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary War,  and  which  the  Jacobites  and  non-juring 
divines  in  England  resisted.  This  is  the  true  doc- 
trine. And  yet,  on  the  same  page,  a  few  lines  farther 
on,  you  inconsistently  state  that  u  right  of  revolution 
is  a  political  right,  the  doctrine  of  revolution,  a  po- 
litical doctrine ;  and,  therefore,  we  have  no  reason  to 
expect  that  they  will  be  taught  us  in  the  Word  of 
God ;  I  receive  them  as  true  upon  the  authority  of 
reason:"  p.  69.  So  that  the  conclusion  you  seem 
finally  to  reach  is  that  "passive  obedience"  is  the 
doctrine  of  Scripture;  but  the  right  of  revolution, 
the  doctrine  of  reason !  And  let  it  be  noted,  you 
come  to  this  conclusion,  although  you  had,  a  few  lines 
before,  declared  that  passive  obedience  is  "  not  im- 
plied"' in  the  command  to  obey  Nero!  The  truth 
must  lie  somewhere  in  the  confusion  of  these  contra- 
dictory propositions ;  and,  in  my  judgment,  it  lies 
just  here :  resistance  to  tyrants  may  be  justified  by 
the  Word  of  God;  and,  therefore,  the  doctrine  of 
revolution  is  a  scriptural  doctrine. 

§  3.  Your  attempted  distinction  between  what  is 
scriptural  and  what  is  political,  is  an  entire  fallacy, 


336  PRESBYTERIAN     VIEWS 

so  far  as  the  general  principles  of  duty  are  concerned. 
You  say  that  "  the  Scriptures  were  given  to  teach  us 
religion  and  not  politics;"  p.  09.  But  is  not  "poli- 
tics" the  science  of  our  duties  and  obligations  to  the 
State  ?  The  Bible  regulates  our  duties  to  God,  to 
ourselves,  to  our  fellow-creatures,  and  to  the  State. 
We  owe  no  duty  to  the  State  that  cannot  be  derived 
from  the  Bible.  All  our  political  duties  are  moral 
duties.  Is  not  obedience  a  political  duty  ?  And  does 
not  the  Bible  place  obedience  on  moral  grounds  — 
"  wherefore,  ye  must  needs  be  subject,  not  only  for 
wrath,  but  also  for  conscience'  sake :"  Rom.  13  :  5. 
All  our  duties  to  the  State  are  taught  in  the  Scrip- 
tures. The  Word  of  God  gives  us  the  general  prin- 
ciples of  morality  that  apply  to  civil  despotism  and 
slavery,  whilst  the  details  about  revolution  and  the 
plans  of  emancipation  are  political  measures,  which 
belong  to  the  State.  Your  error  is  in  saying  that, 
emancipation  being  political,  is  placed  beyond  the 
reach  of  the  Bible  and  of  the  Church. 

§  4.  I  have,  by  no  means,  intended  to  deny  that 
there  is  a  broad  distinction  between  the  Church  and 
the  State,  as  likewise  between  each  of  these  and  the 
family.  But  this  does  not  withdraw  either,  or  all  of 
them,  from  the  reach  of  moral,  religious,  and  Christian 
obligation.  A  wrong,  immoral,  or  sinful  act  does  not 
cease  to  be  such,  because  it  is  done  in  the  family  or 
by  the  State.     It  is  just  as  "properly  sinful"  as  if 


ON     SLAVEHOLDING.  33/ 

done  by  an  individual.  If  a  community,  in  their 
political  capacity,  license  gambling,  or  prostitution, 
the  act  of  granting  the  license,  or  using  it,  is  none 
the  less  sinful  in  both  parties,  because  it  is  done  po- 
litically. If  the  people  in  any  of  these  United  States 
vote  to  establish  a  despotism  with  power  to  persecute 
Christianity,  they  do  a  wicked  act.  If  the  constitu- 
tion and  laws  of  Virginia  should  be  so  altered  as  to 
prohibit  masters  from  teaching  their  slaves  to  read 
the  Bible,  all  parties  to  such  a  proceeding  would  be 
guilty  of  sin.  The  State  is  under  moral  obligations 
to  act  righteously.  Slaveholding,  as  it  now  exists  in 
the  southern  portion  of  our  country,  may  not  now  be, 
nor  do  I  believe  it  is,  a  sinful  relation  on  the  part  of 
the  great  body  of  masters,  nor  does  it  involve  sin  on 
the  part  of  the  lawgivers  simply  for  authorizing  its 
present  existence.  But  a  condition  of  things  may 
arise,  in  which  what  is  now  sinless  may  become  sin- 
ful, whether  allowed  or  not  by  the  State.  Things  in 
their  own  nature  sinful,  or  things  indifferent  in  them- 
selves which  in  given  circumstances  are  inconsistent 
with  Christian  love,  justice,  and  mercy,  are  not  made 
otherwise,  because  authorized  by  the  civil  power. 
The  continuance  of  slavery  by  law,  when  "  well  being" 
and  "  the  general  good  "  require  emancipation,  would 
be  sinful. 

§  5   A  singular  climax  is  reached  by  your  state- 
ment, that,  when  you  say,  civil  despotism,  or  slavery, 
29  w 


338  P  R  E  S  B  Y  TERI  A  N     V  I  E  W  S 

is  expedient  or  inexpedient,  right  or  wrong,  according 
to  circumstances,"  you  "do  not  mean  wrong  in  th 
proper  seme  of  sinful"  p.  69.  Then,  my  dear  Doc- 
tor, why  use  the  word  at  all  ?  In  what  sense  do  you 
use  it?  If  wrong  does  not  properly  mean  "sinful," 
what  does  "right"  properly  mean ?  and  what  does 
"  morals"  properly  mean  ?  and  what  docs  -  adiaphora  " 
properly  mean  ?  Is  any  meaning  better  determined 
than  the  ordinary  meaning  of  "right  and  wrong?" 
Do  these  terms,  in  moral  questions,  ever  fail  to  denote 
the  moral  quality  of  actions  and  relations?  Ought 
light  and  wrong  to  have  two  meanings  in  a  minister's 
vocabulary? 

It  is,  indeed,  not  to  be  denied  that  some  things,  in 
themselves  indifferent,  may  be  inexpedient,  which 
could  not  at  the  same  time  be  pronounced  sinful. 
Such  things  as  protective  tariffs  and  free  trade, 
greater  or  less  costliness  of  dress  or  equipage,  in  cer- 
tain circumstances,  might  be  put  into  this  category. 
But  there  are  others  again,  whose  inexpediency  arisen 
from  the  circumstances  that  render  them  immoral,  or 
direct  instruments  of  immorality  and  irreligion.  They 
are  inexpedient,  because,  though  in  some  circum- 
stances innocent,  yet  in  the  circumstances  in  question, 
they  are  immoral.  The  mere  sale,  or  use,  of  ardent 
spirits  is  a  thing  indifferent.  It  is  sinful  or  sinless, 
according  to  circumstances.  But,  if  a  man  were  to 
keep  a  tippling-shop,  in  which  he  derives  his  profits 


ON     SLAVEHOLDING.  339 

from    pandering   to   vicious    appetites    and    making 
drunkards  of  the  young  men  of  a  community,  this  is 
criminal  and  unchristian,  although  he  could  show  a 
thousand  licenses  from  the  civil  authority  for  doing 
it.     The  same  would   be   true  of  engaging  in  the 
African   slave  trade,  although  Southern  convention 
after  convention  were  to  favour  it,  and  the  Federal 
Government  were  to  sanction  it.     And,  in  general,  to 
take  your  own  expression,  any  slaveholding,  which  does 
not  "  subsist  in  conformity  to  the  law  of  God,"  is  of  the 
same  character.    Although  there  are  the  adiaphora  in 
the  sphere  of  religion  and  politics  which  may  be  deemed 
inexpedient  without  being  pronounced  sinful,  there 
are  others  which  are  inexpedient,  because,  in  the  cir- 
cumstances, the  doing  of  them  inevitably  involves 
sin.     Of  this  sort,  is  the  procuring,  or  the  holdiny  of 
slaves,  in  circumstances  which  make  it  contrary   to 
Christian  love,  justice,  and  mercy.    And  it  alters  not 
the  moral  nature  of  such  conduct  to  label  it  "  political." 
§  6.  It  is  deserving  of  notice  that  slaveholding  is 
not  a  political  institution  in  the  sense  that  it  is  made 
obligatory  by  law.    A  slaveholder  can  emancipate  his 
slaves  in  Virginia  at  any  time  he  sees  proper,  or  his 
conscience  will  allow;  and  notwithstanding  certain 
restrictions  in  some  of  the  States,  it  is  believed  that 
in  none  is  the  subject  altogether  withdrawn  from  the 
master's  control.     In  your  State,  the  continuance  or 
discontinuance  of  slaveholding  is  a  question,  depend- 


340  PRESBYTERIAN     VIEWS 

ing,  indeed,  upon  considerations  of  the  social  and 
public  welfare,  but  yet  not  requiring  political  action. 
Emancipation  has  been  generally  regarded,  in  such 
cases,  as  a  benevolent,  moral,  or  religious  act,  and  is 
performed  by  the  individual  in  the  fear  of  God,  without 
reference  to  the  powers  that  be.  The  general  spirit 
of  the  laws,  as  well  as  of  public  opinion,  may  be  even 
opposed  to  emancipation ;  and  yet  the  individual,  as 
a  citizen,  has  a  perfect  right  to  give  freedom  to  his 
slaves.  In  such  cases,  in  what  sense  is  the  continu- 
ance or  discontinuance  of  slaveholding  "  in  part  a 
political  doctrine,  which  it  is  the  business  of  the 
statesman  to  expound,  and  the  civil  ruler  to  apply  ?  " 
Granting,  however,  certain  political  relations,  I  have 
shown  that  this  does  not  exclude  the  general  princi- 
ples of  the  Bible  from  controlling  the  subject. 

§  7.  Nor  does  it  alter  anything,  so  far  as  our  pre- 
sent issue  is  concerned,  to  say  that  what  the  Scriptures 
teach  is  one  thing,  and  what  I  know  by  the  natural 
faculties  is  another  thing.  The  distinction  between 
these  things  is  important,  and  where  the  teachings  of 
reason  and  revelation  are  in  conflict,  requires  us  to 
submit  reason  to  revelation.  But  it  does  not  admit 
of  the  possibility  of  two  contradictory  beliefs  in  the 
same  mind,  at  the  same  time,  in  regard  to  the  same 
subject.  I  cannot  believe  on  the  authority  of  Scrip- 
ture that  all  slaveholding  is  sinless,  and  on  the  au- 
thority of  my  reasoning  that  some   slaveholding  is 


ON     SLAVEHOLDING.  341 

sinful.  These  propositions  exclude  each  other.  If  I 
believe  one  to  be  true  on  whatever  evidence,  I  cannot, 
at  the  same  time,  believe  the  other  to  be  true,  on  any 
evidence  whatsoever.  Now,  as  Dr.  Armstrong  admits, 
with  Dr.  Hodge,  p.  72,  that,  in  some  circumstances, 
domestic  slavery  may  be  wrong  and  unjust,  and  that 
it  is  so  in  circumstances  involving  a  violation  of  the 
Divine  law,  p.  6,  you  must  hold  what  you  call  your 
scriptural  doctrine,  that  "  slaveholding  is  not  a  sin  in 
the  sight  of  God,"  in  the  sense  of  a  particular  and 
not  a  universal  proposition,  i.  e.,  that  some  slavehold- 
ing is  not  a  sin — and  not  that  all  slaveholding  is  sin- 
less, and  consequently  you  must  hold  that  the  former 
of  these  two  last  statements,  gives  the  true  and  exact 
Scripture  doctrine,  and  the  whole  doctrine,  too. 

Withal,  your  proposition,  that  "slaveholding  is 
not  a  sin  in  the  sight  of  God,"  is  not  in  the  language 
of  Scripture.  And,  even  if  it  were,  it  is  only  neces- 
sary to  remember  that  a  proposition,  which  is  a  general 
one  in  its  form,  is  often  in  reality,  like  yours,  a  par- 
ticular one.  It  is  one  of  the  simplest  laws  of  inter- 
pretation, that,  where  the  extent  in  which  the  subject 
of  a  proposition  is  used,  is  not  determined  hy  such 
qualifying  adjuncts  as  "some,"  "all,"  "every,"  etc., 
we  must  infer  it  from  other  things  which  show  the 
writer's  meaning.  Those  who  are  conversant  with 
Arminian  and  Universalist  polemics,  know  how  often 
it  is  necessary  to  adopt  some  exegetical  qualification. 
29* 


342  PRESBYTERIAN    VIEWS 

When  your  meaning  is  explicated  in  full  and  exact 
expression,  it  emerges  into  precisely  my  own  propo- 
sition. Your  distinction  between  Scripture  and  reason 
is,  quoad  hoc,  utterly  pointless.  Nor  does  it  require 
a  very  high  exercise  of  the  "  natural  faculties  "  to  see 
this. 

§  8.  It  is  with  some  surprise  that  I  find  you  saying 
that  you  accept  some  things  as  true,  but  not  as  bind- 
ing upon  the  conscience.  You  say,  "  the  first  state- 
ment [yours]  sets  forth  truth  which  must  bind  the 
conscience,  and  exactly  defines  the  limits  of  Church 
power.  The  latter  [mine]  though  I  receive  it  as  true, 
does  neither  the  one  nor  the  other :"  p.  70.  The  fact 
is,  to  a  conscientious  man  this  is  a  sheer  impossibility. 
So  far  as  a  man  believes  a  given  proposition  to  be 
true,  he  is  bound,  and  feels  bound  in  conscience,  to 
act  as  if  it  were  true.  Some  propositions  and  truths 
are.  indeed,  more  immediately  ethical  in  their  nature 
than  others,  and  thus  speak  more  directly  to  the  con- 
science. Among  the  first,  and  self-evident  principles 
of  ethics  is  this,  that  we  ought  to  cleave  and  conform 
to  the  truth.  The  proposition  that  two  and  two  make 
four  is  not  a  scriptural  or  ethical  proposition.  Neither 
is  the  proposition  that  our  country  is  increasing  in 
population  with  unexampled  rapidity.  But  he,  w<ho 
regards  them  as  true,  is  bound  by  Scripture  and  con- 
science to  act  as  if  they  were  so.  He  sins  in  doing- 
otherwise.     The  Bible  does  not  explicitly  announce 


ON    SLAVEHOLDING.  343 

every  true  thing  which  we  are  to  believe,  and  to  be 
bound  by  in  our  conduct,  although  its  principles  lead 
to  it.     It  assumes  that  a  multitude  of  things,  which 
control  our  interpretation  and  application  of  it,  are 
known  otherwise.     And  it  enjoins  us,  "if  there  be 
any  virtue,"  to  regard  "  whatsoever  things  are  true, 
whatsoever  things  are  honest,  whatsoever  things  are 
just,  whatsoever  things  are  pure,  whatsoever  things 
are  lovely,  whatsoever  things  are  of  good  report :" 
Phil.  4:8.     Whatever,  therefore,  you  believe  to  be 
true    respecting    slaveholding,  must  bind  your  con- 
science.    Slaveholding   can    never   get   beyond   the 
authority  of  conscience  and  the  Bible. 

SECTION  III. — DR.  ARMSTRONG  ON  THE  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY. 

In  showing  that  my  form  of  statement  was  coin- 
cident with  that  of  the  General  Assembly,  a  com- 
parison was  instituted  between  it  and  all  the  deliver- 
ances of  the  Assembly  from  1787  to  1845.  You 
carefully  avoid  any  reference  to  any  action  of  the 
General  Assembly,  except  the  one  of  1845,  which  is 
the  only  one  you  venture  to  claim  as  in  any  respect 
covering  your  ground.  Why  is  this,  Doctor  ?  Are 
you  afraid  of  the  whole  light  ?  Or  do  you  think  that 
the  action  of  1845  was  scriptural,  whilst  all  the  pre- 
vious action  was  only  deducible  by  "reason?"  Or 
do  you  believe  that  the  testimony  of  1845  was  con- 
trary to,  and  subversive  of.  the  testimon}^  of  1787 


344  PRESBYTERIAN    VIEWS 

and  of  1818?  If  you  take  the  latter  ground,  then  I 
beg  you  to  remember  that  the  Assembly  of  1846 
passed  the  following  resolution :  "Resolved,  That  in 
the  judgment  of  this  House,  the  action  of  the  Gene- 
ral Assembly  of  1845  was  not  intended  to  deny  or 
rescind  the  testimony  often  uttered  by  the  General 
Assemblies  previous  to  that  date  :"  Baird's  Digest.  814. 
So  you  perceive  that  the  Assembly's  testimon}'  is  one 
harmonious  whole. 

But  without  pressing  you  further  on  this  point,  I 
turn  to  your  singular  evasions  of  the  forms  of  state- 
ments adopted  by  the  Assembly  of  184-5.  These 
forms  are  obviously,  both  in  spirit  and  in  words,  so 
precisely  like  my  own,  that  the  only  method  of  get- 
ting round  them  is  to  raise  the  cry  of  "  abolition  !" 
Your  argument  is  that,  because  the  abolitionists  use 
a  certain  form  of  expression,  therefore,  the  expres- 
sions of  the  Assembly,  which  are  similar  but  in  the 
negative,  are  "  like  poor  land,  which  the  more  a  man 
has.  the  worse  off  he  is."  Now  does  not  my  good 
brother  Armstrong  know  that  it  makes  no  difference 
from  what  quarter  the  language  comes,  provided  the 
Assembly  judged  it  suitable  to  give  expression  to  its 
own  opinions?  But  such  a  trivial  objection  —  which 
is  worth  to  a  controversialist  about  as  much  as  a  Vir- 
ginia "  old  field  "  is  to  a  planter  —  has  not  even  the 
solidity  of  "  poor  land,"  but  vanishes  away  into  a 
cloud  of  dust  before  the  sweeping  statement  of  the 


ON     SLAVEHOLDING.  345 

General  Assembly,  in  these  words :  "  The  question, 
therefore,  which  this  General  Assembly  is  called  upon 
to  decide,  is  this :  Do  the  Scriptures  teach  that  the 
holding  of  slaves,  without  regard  to  circumstances,  is 
a  sin,  the  renunciation  of  which  should  be  made  a 
condition  of  membership  in  the  Church  of  Christ  ?" 
p.  812.  That  was  the  point  which  the  Assembly  not 
only  expressed  in  its  own  language,  but  decided  by 
its  last  action,  viz.,  that  circumstances  enter  into  the 
justification,  or  condemnation,  of  slaveholding. 

It  may  be  added  that  Dr.  N.  L.  Rice,  who  drew  up 
the  Report,  is  not  apt  to  use  the  contradictory  of  the 
language  of  abolitionists,  unless  it  is  the  very  best 
form  to  meet  their  fanaticism.  There  is  not  a  par- 
ticle of  evidence  from  the  records,  however,  to  show 
that  the  Assembly  merely  followed  the  language  of 
others.  The  four  quotations  vary  in  form,  which  is 
the  best  possible  proof  that  the  language  is  original 
and  independent,  whilst  the  idea  of  "  circumstances  " 
pervades  the  whole  Report.  Your  "  leafless  tree " 
must,  therefore,  continue  to  remain  in  its  withered 
state ;  for  it  receives  neither  light  nor  heat  from  the 
luminary  of  the  General  Assembly.  Here  are  the 
four  quotations  referred  to  : 

1.  "The  question,  which  is  now  unhappily  agitating  and 
dividing  other  branches  of  the  Church,  is,  whether  the  holding 
of  slaves  is,  under  all  circumstances,  a  heinous  sin,  calling  for  the 
discipline  of  the  Church." 

2.  "  The  question  which  this  Assembly  is  called  upon  to  decide 


346  PRESBYTERIAN    VIEWS 

is  this:  Do  the  Scriptures  teach  that  the  holding  of  slaves,  with- 
out regard  to  circumstances,  is  a  sin  ?" 

8.  "  The  Apostles  did  not  denounce  the  relation  itself  as 
sinful." 

4.  "  The  Assembly  cannot  denounce  the  holding  of  slaves  as 
necessarily  a  heinous  and  scandalous  sin." 

If  the  reader  wishes  to  see  how  the  uniform  testi- 
mony of  the  General  Assembly  sustains  my  form  of 
stating  the  doctrine  (whilst  it  ignores  that  of  Dr. 
Armstrong),  he  may  find  the  record  on  pages  2G2-3, 
in  the  first  Article. 

SECTION     IV.  DR.     ARMSTRONG'S    WEAPON     TO     DO 

BATTLE    WITH. 

I  still  think  that  your  mode  of  stating  the  doctrine 
lacks  the  power  of  resisting  abolitionism.  Nor  am  I 
convinced  of  the  contrary  by  the  "  fact "  you  adduce, 
which  is,  indeed,  somewhat  shadowy  or  indefinite. 
If  we  are  to  understand  by  the  "  fact,"  Dr.  Hill's  high 
estimate  of  your  skill  as  a  champion,  it  does  not  ne- 
cessarily follow  that,  after  seeing  your  statement  of 
the  doctrine,  Dr.  Hill  should  consider  it  the  best  pos- 
sihle;  and  if  he  should,  I  do  not  see  that  his  opinion 
is  more  of  "  a  fact "  than  mine.  Or  if  the  "  fact"  be 
that  the  two  selected  champions  could  not  agree  on 
the  terms  of  the  combat,  I  do  not  think  that  this  is 
a  proof  of  skill  on  either  side.  Or  if  the  "  fact  "  be 
that,  after  you  had  put  forth  your  argument,  you  gave 
your  adversary  the  challenge  to  fight  in  the  mode  of 


ON     SL  AVEHOLDING.  347 

your  own  choice,  I  do  not  think  it  a  necessary  and 
logical  inference  that  his  decimation  shows  he  con- 
sidered your  arguments,  in  all  respects,  unanswerable. 
And  if  he  did,  it  is  not  clear  that  all  other  people 
should ;  or  that  my  opinion  should  not  have  as  much 
weight  as  that  of  a  man  who,  for  some  reason  or 
other,  has  not  condescended  to  notice  your  excellent 
book  at  all.  I  deny,  therefore,  the  correctness  of 
your  charge,  that  I  have  "  compelled  you  to  become 
a  fool  in  glorying,"  because  there  has  really  been  no 
occasion  to  glory. 

Do  not  understand  me  as,  in  the  least,  disparaging 
your  ability  as  a  logician  and  controversialist.  Far 
from  it.  No  man,  probably,  in  Virginia,  could  sus- 
tain, with  more  plausibility  and  force,  your  defective 
proposition  on  slavery.  But  notwithstanding  all  this 
exhibition  of  your  controversial  skill,  I  believe  it  to 
be  a  "  fact,"  that  your  proposition  is  "  no  weapon  to 
do  battle  with."  The  statement  that  "  slaveholding 
is  not  a  sin  in  the  sight  of  God,"  without  reference 
to  circumstances,  has  not  the  capacity  to  do  full  exe- 
cution. As  a  cannon-ball  with  holes  and  cavities 
cannot  be  made  to  go  straight,  so  your  statement  of 
doctrine  zigzags  away  from  the  mark,  in  spite  of  all 
your  propelling  powers. 

I  have  never  doubted  the  purity  of  your  intentions. 
But  it  is  a  singular  development  of  human  nature 
that  men,  who  were  born  at  the  North,  should  gene- 


348  PRESBYTERIAN     VIEWS 

rally  be  the  warmest  advocates  of  extravagant  pro- 
slavery  views.  This  is  not  said  in  invidiam  ;  but  as 
a  simple  rejoinder  to  your  statement  that,  being  born 
at  the  North,  you  had  many  prejudices  to  overcoim  . 
before  reaching  your  present  opinions.  I  do  not 
doubt  the  truth  of  this  latter  statement. 

SECTION   V. DR.    ARMSTRONG   ON    SYLLOGISMS. 

§  1.  Let  us  now  turn  again,  from  comparatively 
irrevelant  matter,  to  the  real  point  at  issue.  You 
have  put  your  argument,  with  some  show  of  triumph, 
into  the  form  of  a  syllogism,  and  peremptorily  call 
me  to  meet  the  argument  "fairly  and  squarely,"  for 
"thus  only  can  you  [I]  influence  the  opinions  of 
thinking  men  :"  p.  78.  I  accept  the  syllogistic  form 
and  the  appeal  to  thinking  men,  and  shall  endeavor 
to  show  the  weakness  of  your  first  and  principal  syl- 
logism. The  others  require  no  notice,  now.  Your 
syllogism  is  as  follows: 

"a.  Whatever  Christ  and  his  inspired  Apostles  re- 
fused to  make  a  bar  to  communion,  a  court  of  Christ 
has  no  authority  to  make  such. 

"  But,  Christ  and  his  inspired  Apostles  did  refuse 
to  make  slaveholcling  a  bar  to  communion. 

"  Therefore,  a  court  of  Christ  has  no  authority  to 
make  slaveholding  a  bar  to  communion  :"  p.  76. 

§  2.  In  the  first  place,  I  deny  the  correctness  of 
your  logical  view  of  the  syllogism ;  and  in  the  second 


ON     SLAYEII0LDIN6.  349 

place,  I  maintain  that,  even  if  the  syllogism  were 
faultless,  it  would  not  prove  that  my  statement  of  the 
Scripture  doctrine  of  slavery  was  wrong. 

As  to  the  syllogism,  the  error  is  in  supposing  that 
there  are  no  circumstances,  of  any  sort,  in  the  pre- 
mises. It  is  true  that  no  circumstances,  or  qualifica- 
tions, are  introduced  expressly,  or  in  so  many  words ; 
but  they  are  implied;  and,  according  to  "a  funda- 
mental principle  of  logic,"  they  are  implied,  to  an 
equal  extent,  in  the  conclusion.  I  have  shown,  over 
and  over  again,  that  your  own  proposition,  when  ana- 
lyzed, has  reference  to  some,  not  to  all  slavery ;  and, 
therefore,  that  some  circumstances  are  necessarily  in- 
troduced. In  your  answer  to  the  question  whether 
your  proposition  "  involves  the  idea  that  all  slave- 
holding  is  sinless  in  the  sight  of  God,"  you  say,  "  By 
no  means  :"  p.  6.  And  again,  your  proposition  "can 
properly  apply  to  such  slaveholding  only  as  subsists 
in  conformity  with  the  law  of  God  :"  p.  7.  Now  all 
such  circumstances,  as  render  slaveholding  unlawful, 
are  implied  in  the  premise,  and  consequently  in  the 
conclusion.  The  resolution  adopted  by  the  General 
Assembly,  explicitly  refers  to  circumstances  in  the 
general,  under  which  slavery  exists  in  the  United 
States.  The  Assembly's  paper  was  formed  in  view 
of  those  circumstances,  and  they  qualify  the  whole 
document. 

It  is  perfectly  clear,  that  "circumstances"  must  be 
30 


350  PRESBYTERIAN     VIEWS 

necessarily  implied  to  some  extent,  in  your  syllogism, 
according  to  your  theory  of  its  meaning ;  and  "  cir- 
cumstances" are  involved  in  the  conclusion  by  a 
"  fundamental  principle  of  logic." 

§  3.  Admitting,  however,  that  slaveholding,  within 
the  limits  specified  by  yourself  (which  exclude  tic 
general  circumstances  connected  with  "  well  being  " 
and  the  "public  welfare,"  called  by  you  "political"), 
cannot  be  made  a  bar  to  Church  communion,  what 
then  ?  Does  this  prove  that  slaveholding  does  not 
become  sinful,  when  "'well  being"  and  the  "public 
welfare"  require  emancipation?  Or  does  it  prove 
that  slaveholding  may  continue  to  exist  without  sin 
"until  Christ's  second  coming?"  By  no  menus. 
Slaveholding  may  become  sinful  under  circumstances 
in  which  it  cannot  be  made  the  subject  of  Church  dis- 
cipline. It  is  just  because  slaveholding  is  right  or 
wrong  according  to  circumstances,  that  it  is  not 
allowed  to  become  a  bar  to  Church  communion.  Ex- 
pediency cannot  be  made  the  ground  of  universal  and 
perpetual  obligation;  and,  therefore,  things  that  in 
morals  are  classed  among  the  adiaphora  are  not  ne- 
cessarily within  the  range  of  Church  discipline.  But 
are  such  things,  therefore,  innocent  under  all  circum- 
stances ?  Of  course  not.  Their  very  nature  implies 
the  contrary.  The  fact  that  the  Church  is  precluded. 
by  the  nature  of  the  case,  from  disciplining  persons, 
whose  conduct  is  "  right  or  wrong  according  to  cir- 


ON     SLAVEHOLDING.  351 

cumstances,"  does  not  acquit  such  persons  of  sin. 
They  may  be  great  sinners  "  in  the  sight  of  God,"  for 
holding  their  fellow-men  in  bondage  under  circum- 
stances contrary  to  "  well  being"  and  the  "  public  wel- 
fare ;"  although  the  Church,  which  cannot  read  the 
hearts  of  men,  or  decide  upon  the  details  covering 
every  case,  may  be  prevented  from  exercising  disci- 
pline.    Your  syllogism,  therefore,  proves  nothing. 

As  the  proper  jurisdiction  of  the  Church  comes  up 
in  your  next  Letter,  I  will  reserve  its  further  discus- 
sion for  that  occasion. 

SECTION    VI.  —  DR.     ARMSTRONG    EXPLAINING    HIS 
PROPOSITION. 

One  of  the  most  singular  things  in  this  controversy 
—  which,  I  do  not  wonder,  begins  to  assume  to  you 
the  appearance  of  "  a  dark  and  bloody  ground  "  —  is 
that  my  friend,  Dr.  Armstrong,  first  declares  that 
every  proposition  "  should  be  so  expressed"  as  to  bear 
examination  "  apart  from  all  explanations,"  and  then 
feels  himself  compelled,  at  every  point,  to  offer  ex- 
planations. This  necessity  is  inherent  in  the  nature 
of  your  doctrinal  statement,  and  its  defectiveness  is 
made  manifest  by  your  own  rule.  A  proposition  that 
needs  continual  explanations,  must  be  either  obscurely 
or  illogically  expressed.  I  think  yours  is  both  ;  and 
obscurely,  because  illogically. 

§  1.  Your  first  explanation  is  uncalled  for;  because 


352  PRESBYTERIAN     VIEWS 

your  proposition,  faulty  as  it  is,  was  never  charged 
with  sanctioning  the  "  incidental  evils  of  slavery." 

In  saying,  with  Dr.  Spring,  that  "  the  bondage  of 
the  Hebrews  partook  of  the  character  of  apprentice- 
ship rather  than  of  rigorous  servitude,"  reference  was 
made  to  the  mode  of  treatment  under  the  two  relations, 
without  confounding  their  nature. 

It  seems  that  my  good  brother  Armstrong  is  will- 
ing to  adopt  the  phraseology,  "  Slaveholding,  in  itself 
considered,  is  not  sinful,"  provided  I  will  allow  him 
to  make  an  explanation  that  explains  it  away ;  but 
on  all  such  explanations  as  causes  it  to  mean,  "  slave- 
holding  free  from  its  incidental  evils,"  I  am  con- 
strained to  put  my  veto.  Your  explanation  makes 
the  meaning  to  be,  "slaveholding  in  itself  considered, 
is  right,  if  the  circumstances  are  right;"  that  is,  "slave- 
holding,  without  regard  to  circumstances  is  right,  if 
the  circumstances  are  right!" 

§  2.  Your  proposition  certainly  seems  to  justify  the 
permanence  of  slavery.  Notwithstanding  your  pro- 
tests and  disclaimers,  and  although  you  mean  not  so, 
your  doctrine  establishes  passive  obedience  and  the 
perpetuity  of  despotism  and  slavery.  You  set  forth, 
as  an  article  of  faith,  binding  the  conscience,  that  we 
must  obey  the  powers  that  be,  and  that  despotism 
and  slavery  are  not  sins.  You  object  to  interpolating 
into  these  propositions  any  qualifying  or  limiting  cir- 
cumstances, and  have  written  two  elaborate  Letters 


OX     SLAVEHOLDING.  006 

against  it.  You,  indeed,  believe  that  circumstances 
may  make  them  wrong :  p.  7.  But,  then,  you  believe 
this  "upon  the  authority  of  reason;"  and,  therefore, 
as  you  hold,  this  belief  does  not  bind  the  conscience. 
Whoever,  then,  under  the  most  oppressive  despotism 
contends  for  the  right  of  revolution,  or,  when  a  com- 
munity has  fairly  outgrown  the  state  in  which  slavery 
is  otherwise  than  unjust,  for  emancipation,  is  contend- 
ing for  what  does  not  bind  any  man's  conscience ; 
while  the  doctrine  that  despotism  and  slavery  are  no 
sins — to  which  you  will  not  allow  any  limitation  from 
circumstances  to  be  applied — confronts  him,  and  does 
bind  his  conscience.  How,  if  this  be  so,  can  a  con- 
scientious man,  in  any  "circumstances"  undertake  to 
withhold  obedience  from  despots,  and  exercise  the 
"  right  of  revolution."  or  venture  to  promote  emanci- 
pation ? 

§  3.  The  proposition  that  "  slaveholding  is  not  a 
wsin  in  the  sight  of  God,"  is  so  broad  as  to  appear  to 
cover  up  many  circumstances  that  make  it  wrong. 
As  an  abstract  proposition,  without  any  explanation, 
—  and  you  say,  it  ought  to  be  so  clear  as  to  dispense 
with  explanations — it  certainly  seems  to  involve  the 
consecpiences  mentioned  in  one  of  my  Letters.  Some 
of  your  explanations,  of  course,  relieve  it  from  some 
of  the  objections ;  but  not  from  all.  As  a  moral  rule 
for  keeping  the  conscience  in  a  healthful  condition,  it 
is  peculiarly  faulty.  If  the  relation  become  a  sinful 
30*  x 


o54  PRESBYTERIAN     VIEWS 

one,  whenever  the  circumstances  of  "well  being" 
and  the  "public  welfare"  require  its  dissolution,  how 
completely  in  the  dark  does  your  statement  keep  the 
moral  agent !  What  you  call  the  scriptural  doctrine 
is  only  a  part  of  the  true  doctrine,  and  it  tends  to 
lull  the  conscience  under  the  professed  guidance  of 
revelation. 

§  4.  Your  objection  to  my  proposition  that.it  '•ac- 
quits the  slaveholding  member  of  the  Church  by  a 
sort  of  whip  and  clear  him  judgment,"  is  as  untenable 
as  ever,  notwithstanding  your  version  of  that  expres- 
sion. It  seems,  by  the  bye,  that  the  expression,  in- 
stead of  meaning  "  strike  first,  and  then  acquit," 
means  "  acquit  first,  and  then  strike !"  How  my 
statement  can  be  interpreted  into  Lynch-law,  which, 
either  way,  means  the  same  thing,  I  am  at  a  loss  to 
conjecture.  Mine  is,  you  perceive,  the  exact  contra- 
(Victory  of  the  abolition  doctrine.  It,  in  fact,  "  whips" 
the  abolitionist,  whilst  it  "  clears  "  the  slaveholder,  if 
••  circumstances  "  are  in  his  favour.  Far  be  it  from 
me  to  cast  any  odium  upon  my  brethren  at  the  South, 
who  are  faithfully  endeavoring  to  do  their  duty  in 
the  midst  of  many  trials  and  anxieties.  "  God  bless 
them  in  their  work  of  faith  and  labour  of  love,"  is 
the  prayer  often  thousands  of  Christians  at  the  North. 
I  have  honestly  thought  that  my  proposition  affords 
to  the  conscientious  slaveholder  a  clearer  vindication 
than  yours ;  and  it  is  not  encumbered  with  the  dif- 


ON     SLAVEHOLDING.  355 

ficulties  and  logical  consequences,  that  press  yours  on 
every  side. 

§  5.  The  last  paragraph  in  your  Letter  is  singularly 
out  of  place.  In  arguing  against  your  statement,  I 
attempted  to  show  that  the  opinions,  which  you  com- 
plain of  my  charging  upon  you,  were  "fairly  involved  " 
in  that  form  of  statement.  A  controversialist  is  not 
supposed  to  charge  the  obnoxious  inferences  as  the 
opinions  of  his  adversary,  but  rather,  to  take  it  for 
granted  that  he  repudiates  these  opinions,  and  hence 
will  be  constrained  to  repudiate  the  doctrine  that 
leads  to  them  by  legitimate  consequences ;  or,  at  all 
events,  if  not  he,  that  the  public,  to  whom  the  argu- 
ment is  also  addressed,  will  repudiate  it.  However 
this  may  be,  no  one  has  a  right  to  complain  of  an 
adversary  for  showing  the  evil  consequences  of  his 
opinions.  To  object  to  the  refutation  of  an  argument 
by  showing  its  false  consequences,  is  to  object  to  its 
being  refuted  at  all. 

SECTION   VII. THOUGHTS   TOWARDS   THE    CLOSE. 

§  1.  It  is  not  at  all  unlikely  that  many  "thinking 
men,"  who  carefully  consider  our  respective  state- 
ments, will  think  the  statement,  "  slaveholding  is  not 
necessarily  and  in  all  circumstances  sinful "  a  much 
better  one  than  "  slaveholding  is  not  a  sin  in  the  sight 
of  God."  My  statement  needs  no  explanations,  whilst 
yours  requires  props  on  every  side. 


356  PRESBYTERIAN     VIEWS 

§  2.  Your  suggestion  of  spending  ten  hours  to  my 
one,  in  considering  the  subject  of  slavery,  is  of  no 
avail  in  an  argument.  Moral  propositions  depend  up<  1 1 1 
being  supported  by  truth,  not  time.  There  are  some 
men,  who  are  "  always  learning,  and  never  able  to 
come  to  a  knowledge  of  the  truth."  This,  of  course, 
does  not  apply  to  yourself;  especially,  because  you 
are  so  near  the  truth,  that  there  is  every  reason  to 
expect  that  you  will  soon  reach  it,  in  its  perfection. 

§  3.  Your  complaint  that  our  brethren  at  the  South 
have  been  subjected  to  much  misapprehension  and 
obloquy  by  fanatical  men  at  the  North,  is  unfortu- 
nately true.  I  deprecate  this  as  much  as  you  do. 
But  a  good  degree  of  this  abuse  lias  been  owing  to 
the  ultra  defenders  of  slavery,  whose  unwarrantable 
statements  and  arguments  have  provoked  a  spirit  of 
alienation  and  a  fierce  reaction  both  in  sentiment  and 
in  practice.  The  continuance  of  the  peace  of  our 
Church  depends,  under  God,  upon  the  continuance  of 
the  moderation  which  has  hitherto  characterized  our 
spirit,  opinions,  and  measures. 

§  4.  You  say,  "  Let  Mr.  Barnes  specify  the  circum- 
stances, and  I  doubt  whether  even  he  would  object  to 
your  statement:"  p.  76.  This  is  precisely  what  Mr. 
Barnes  has  no  right  to  do  for  another  man.  He  may 
form  his  own  judgment  of  the  case,  and  express  it, 
and  argue  it,  and  endeavour  to  make  all  others  receive 
it  as  true.    But  he  cannot  enforce  his  own  views  as  a 


ON     SLAVEHOLDING.  357 

moral  standard  for  others.  As  he  admits  that  "Abra- 
ham's slaveholding  was  no  sin,"  there  is  good  reason 
to  hope  for  candour,  in  general.  But  neither  he,  nor 
T,  nor  any  other  man,  can  make  his  own  rule  of  mo- 
rality, in  matters  that  are  adiaphora,  to  be  authority 
for  anybody  else. 

§  5.  You  ask,  why  your  statement  sounds  in  my 
ears  "  like  an  old  tune  with  unpleasant  variations." 
and  sung,  you  might  have  added,  by  the  chorister 
almost  alone,  whilst  Dr.  Hodge's  sounds  like  "  Old 
Hundred,"  in  which  the  whole  congregation  joins  ?  I 
will  tell  you.  Your  form  of  statement  is  unknown 
to  the  General  Assembly,  from  its  organization  down 
to  the  present  time.  You  cannot  point  to  a  single 
sentence  in  all  our  Church  testimonies,  that,  rightly 
"  said  or  sung,"  harmonizes  with  yours.  Dr.  Hodge, 
on  the  other  hand,  agrees  with  the  General  Assembly, 
whose  form  of  statement  is  also  adopted  by  your 
opponent.  Dr.  Hodge  is  in  sympathy  with  all  the 
deliverances  of  the  General  Assembly,  whilst  to  many 
of  them  you  carefully  avoid  allusion,  in  the  very 
midst  of  the  subject  which  invites  an  appeal  to  them; 
and  even  the  testimony  of  1845  you  appear  to  desire 
to  explain  away,  and  to  extract  the  very  pith  of  doc- 
trine from  that  majestic  rod,  that  buds  even  like 
Aaron's. 

§  6.  The  eternal  principles  of  justice,  which  are 
revealed  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  are  the  reflec- 


358  PRESBYTERIAN     VIEWS 

tion  of  the  attributes  of  God,  must  decide  the  various 
questions  relating  to  domestic  servitude,  and  justify 
or  condemn  "  according  to  circumstances."  Whilst 
we  both  agree  in  the  appeal  to  that  tribunal,  whose 
decision  is  "  of  record,"  happier  is  he  who  will  be 
found  at  last  to  have  interpreted  that  record  aright, 
and  to  have  exhibited  the  truth  in  nearest  conformity 
to  the  Divine  will ! 

I  am  yours,  truly, 

C.  Van  Rensselaer. 


ON     SLAVEHOLDING.  359 


AETICLE   V. 

EMANCIPATION  AND  THE  CHURCH;    SCHEMES  OF  EMAN- 
CIPATION;   AFRICAN  COLONIZATION,  ETC. 

To  the  Rev.  George  D.  Armstrong,  D.  D. : 

Your  second    rejoinder  discusses   three    subjects : 

1.  Emancipation  and  the  Church.     2.  Emancipation 

and  the  State,  or  Schemes  of  Emancipation.     3.  The 

History  of  Anti-slavery  Opinions. 

The  second  subject  is  an  entirely  new  one,  which 

I  have  hitherto  refrained  from  touching,  and  which, 

under  ordinary  circumstances,  I  should  still  decline 

to  discuss. 

SECTION  I. IS  EMANCIPATION  EXCLUSIVELY  A  POLITICAL 

QUESTION  ? 

It  has  been  my  endeavour  to  discriminate  carefully 
between  the  moral  and  political  aspects  of  slavery, 
and  to  disclaim  any  interference  of  the  Church,  with 
the  proper  work  of  the  State.  The  State  alone  pos- 
sesses the  right  to  establish  and  enforce  measures  of 

1  The  course  of  remark  pursued  in  this  article,  was  determined 
chiefly  by  Dr.  Armstrong's  Rejoinder,  to  which  it  is  a  reply.  The 
Scriptural  argument  is  stated  more  particularly  in  my  previous 
letters. 


360  PRESBYTERIAN     VIEWS 

general  emancipation.  But  does  legislation  exhaust 
the  subject?  In  my  judgment,  it  does  not.  Eman- 
cipation has  moral  and  religious  relations,  as  well  as 
political.  No  slaveholder  has  the  moral  right  to  keep 
his  slaves  in  bondage,  if  they  are  prepared  for  free- 
dom, and  he  can  wisely  set  them  free.1 

1.  There  is  a  distinction  between  a  moral  end,  k> 
be  kept  in  view,  and  the  political  means  of  attaining 
that  end.  The  measures  to  secure  emancipation  may 
be  political  measures,  but  the  end  contemplated  rests 
upon  a  moral  obligation.  It  is  my  duty,  as  a  Chris- 
tian, to  prepare  my  slaves  for  freedom,  when  Provi- 
dence opens  the  way;  and  yet,  I  may  be  so  restrained 
by  State  laws  as  to  depend  upon  political  interven- 
tion for  a  plan  of  emancipation.  With  the  latter,  the 
Church  has  nothing  to  do. 

2.  Slavery  is  not,  like  despotism,  enjoined  by  law. 
Every  individual  may  be  a  slaveholder  or  not,  as  he 
pleases.  Here  is  an  important  distinction,  which  you 
entirely  overlook.  Whilst  the  State  has  the  right  to 
control  emancipation,  and  can  alone  originate  general 
measures,  binding  upon  all  its  citizens,  it  commonly 
leaves  emancipation  to  the  discretion  of  the  slave- 
holder himself.  In  Virginia,  any  person  may  emanci- 
pate his  slaves,  who  makes  provision  for  their  removal 

1  A  fair  compensation  may  be  claimed  for  the  pecuniary  sacri- 
fice involved  in  manumission,  either  from  the  State  or  from  the 
slaves  themselves. 


ON     SLAVEHOLDING.  361 

out  of  the  State.  The  act  of  emancipation,  under 
these  circumstances,  is  a  lawful  act  of  the  master, 
which  in  no  way  interferes  with  politics.  Where 
shall  a  person  thus  situated,  whose  conscience  trou- 
bles him,  go  for  direction  ?  To  the  State  ?  To  the 
members  of  the  Legislature  ?  No  !  The  question  is 
one  of  duty  to  his  God.  It  involves  a  religious  and 
moral  principle;  and,  admitting  that  his  slaves  are 
prepared  for  freedom,  it  is  outside  of  politics.  The 
slaveholder  must  search  the  Scriptures,  or  he  may 
consult  the  testimonies  of  the  Church  for  her  inter- 
pretation of  the  Scriptures.  The  Church  has  a  per- 
fect right  to  give  to  her  members  advice  on  this  sub- 
ject, which  will  guide  them  in  perplexity ;  and  this 
advice  may  be  volunteered,  if  circumstances  seem  to 
demand  it. 

3.  Slaves  stand,  ecclesiastically,  in  the  relation  of 
children  to  parents.  Our  General  Assembly  has  de- 
clared that  Christian  masters,  who  have  the  right  to 
bring  their  children  to  baptism,  may  also  present  for 
baptism,  in  their  own  name,  the  children  of  their 
slaves.  Can  it  be  conceived  that  the  Church  has  no 
right  to  counsel  her  members  concerning  the  nature 
and  continuance  of  this  peculiar  relationship  through- 
out her  own  households  ? 

4.  Slaveholding  is  "right  or  wrong,  according  to 
circumstances."  It  belongs  in  morals  to  the  adia- 
phora,  or  things  indifferent.     It  may  be  right  in  1858, 

31 


362  PRESBYTERIAN    VIEWS 

and  wrong  in  1868,  according  as  the  slaves  may  be 
not  prepared,  or  prepared,  for  emancipation.  The 
very  nature  of  the  class  of  subjects  to  which  it  be- 
longs, places  it  within  the  scope  of  church  testimony. 
The  continuance  or  discontinuance  of  slaveholding, 
concerns  the  character  of  the  slaveholder  as  a  right- 
eous man. 

5.  Even  if  the  State  should  altogether  remove 
emancipation  from  the  power  of  the  individual  slave- 
holder, and  determine  to  exercise  exclusive  jurisdiction 
over  the  matter,  what  then  ?  In  the  first  place,  the 
obligation  would  still  rest  upon  the  master  to  elevate 
his  slaves,  and  to  set  them  free  wdienever  the  way 
was  open.  And  in  the  second  place,  the  master 
would  be  bound  as  a  citizen,  to  exert  himself  to  obtain 
from  the  State  the  necessary  public  measures  to  se- 
cure at  the  right  time  the  same  object. 

Emancipation  is  not  "  properly  a  political  question  " 
in  any  sense  that  makes  it  cease  to  be  a  moral  and 
religious  one.  So  far  as  it  partakes  of  the  latter  cha- 
racter, the  Church  has  a  right,  within  the  limits  of 
her  authority,  to  utter  her  testimony  in  favour  of  it. 

SECTION   II. SLAVERY   AND    THE   INTERESTS   OF    THE 

LIFE   TO    COME. 

One  of  your  arguments  for  excluding  emancipa- 
tion from  the  influence  of  Church  testimony  is,  that 
"  it  does  not  immediately  concern  the  interests  of  the 


ON     SLAVEHOLDING.  363 

life  to  come."  This  point  can  best  be  determined  by 
impartial  witnesses,  personally  acquainted  with  the 
practical  workings  of  slavery.  Allow  me,  then,  in 
all  courtesy,  to  introduce  the  testimony  of  some  of 
ablest  and  most  respected  ministers  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian Church,  who  are  familiar  with  the  system  in  its 
best  forms.  A  Committee,  appointed  by  the  Synod 
of  Kentucky,  made  a  Report  to  that  body,  in  1835, 
in  which  they  characterized  the  system  of  slavery  in 
the  following  manner : 

"  There  are  certain  effects  springing,  naturally  and  necessarily 
out  of  such  a  system,  which  must  also  be  considered. 

"  1.  Its  most  striking  effect  is,  to  deprave  and  degrade  its 
subjects  by  removing  from  them  the  strongest  natural  checks  to 
human  corruption.  There  are  certain  principles  of  human  na- 
ture by  which  God  works  to  save  the  moral  world  from  ruin.  In 
the  slave,  these  principles  are  eradicated.  He  is  degraded  to  a 
mere  creature  of  appetite  and  passion.  These  are  the  feelings 
by  which  he  is  governed.  The  salt  which  preserves  human  na- 
ture is  extracted,  and  it  is  left  a  putrefying  mass. 

"  2.  It  dooms  thousands  of  human  beings  to  hopeless  igno- 
rance. The  slave  has  no  motive  to  acquire  knowledge.  The 
master  will  not  undergo  the  expense  of  his  education.  The  law 
positively  forbids  it.  Nor  can  this  state  of  things  become  bet- 
ter unless  it  is  determined  that  slavery  shall  cease.  Slavery  can- 
not be  perpetuated  if  education  be  generally  or  universally  given 
to  slaves. 

"  3.  It  deprives  its  subjects,  in  a  great  measure,  of  the  privi- 
leges of  the  Gospel.  Their  inability  to  read  prevents  their  ac- 
cess to  the  Scriptures.  The  Bible  is  to  them  a  sealed  book. — 
There  is  no  adequate  provision  made  for  their  attendance  upon 
the  public  means  of  grace.  Nor  are  they  prepared  to  profit 
from  instructions  designed  for  their  masters.     They  listen  when 


364  PRESBYTERIAN    VIEWS 

in  the  sanctuary  to  prophesyings  in  an  unknown  tongue.  Com- 
paratively few  of  them  are  taught  to  bow  with  their  masters 
around  the  domestic  altar.  Family  ordinances  of  religion  are 
almost  unknown  in  the  domestic  circles  of  the  blacks. 

"  4.  This  system  licenses  and  produces  great  cruelty.  The 
whip  is  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  master,  and  he  may  use  it  at 
his  pleasure,  only  avoiding  the  destruction  of  life.  Slaves  often 
suffer  all  that  can  be  inflicted  by  wanton  caprice,  by  grasping 
avarice,  by  brutal  lust,  by  malignant  spite,  and  by  insane  anger. 
Their  happiness  is  the  sport  of  every  whim,  and  the  prey  of  every 
passion  that  may  enter  the  master's  bosom.  Their  bodies  are 
lacerated  with  the  lash.  Their  dignity  is  habitually  insulted. 
Their  tenderest  affections  are  wantonly  crushed.  Dearest  friends 
are  torn  asunder.  Brothers  and  sisters,  parents  and  children,  see 
each  other  no  more.  There  is  not  a  neighborhood  where  these 
heart-rending  scenes  are  not  displayed.  There  is  not  a  village 
or  a  road  that  does  not  behold  the  sad  procession  of  manacled 
outcasts,  whose  chains  and  mournful  countenances  tell  that  they 
are  exiled  by  force  from  all  they  hold  dear. 

"  5.  It  produces  general  licentiousness  among  the  slaves.  Mar- 
riage, as  a  civil  ordinance,  they  cannot  enjoy.  Their  marriages 
are  mere  contracts,  voidable  at  their  master's  pleasure  or  their 
own.  And  never,  in  any  civilized  country,  has  respect  for  these 
restraints  of  matrimony  been  more  nearly  obliterated  than  it  has 
been  among  our  blacks.  This  system  of  universal  concubinage 
produces  revolting  licentiousness. 

"  6.  This  system  demoralizes  the  whites  ax  well  as  the  blacks. 
The  masters  are  clothed  with  despotic  power.  To  depraved  hu- 
manity this  is  exceedingly  dangerous.  Indolence  is  thus  fostered. 
And  hard-heartedness,  selfishness,  arrogance,  and  tyranny  are.  in 
most  men,  rapidly  developed  and  fearfully  exhibited. 

"  ?.  This  system  draws  down  upon  us  the  vengeance  of  Heaven. 
'  If  thou  forbear  to  deliver  them  that  are  drawn  to  death,  and 
those  that  are  ready  to  be  slain  ;  if  thou  sayest,  Behold,  we  knew 
it  not ;  doth  not  he  that  pondereth  the  heart  consider  it  ?  and  he 
that  keepeth  thy  soul,  doth  he  not  know  it?  and  shall  he  not 
render  to  every  man  according  to  his  works  ?  '  '  The  people  of 
the  land  have  used  oppression,  and  exercised  robbery,  and  have 


ON     SLATEHOLDING.  365 

vexed  the  poor  and  needy  ;  yea,  they  have  oppressed  the  stranger 
wrongfully.  .  .  .  Therefore,  have  I  poured  out  mine  indigna- 
tion upon  them  :  I  have  consumed  them  with  the  fire  of  my 
wrath  ;  their  own  way  have  I  recompensed  upon  their  heads,  saith 
the  Lord.'     Such  is  the  system,  such  are  some  of  its  effects." 

The  right  of  the  Church  to  testify  against  the  per- 
manence of  a  system  of  this  character,  cannot  be 
resisted  by  pointing  to  the  overruling  providence  of 
God,  through  which  many  slaves  have  been  brought 
into  his  kingdom.  The  Bible,  it  is  true,  treats  the 
distinctions  of  this  life  as  of  comparatively  little  con- 
sequence, and  enjoins  submission  even  to  wrong-doing 
and  persecution.  But  must  the  Church,  therefore, 
refrain  from  testifying  against  all  social  and  moral 
evils,  and  from  exhorting  her  members  to  use  their 
best  endeavours  to  bring  them  to  an  end  ? 

The  two  facts  adduced  by  you,  do  not  prove  that 
the  Church  has  no  interest  in  emancipation.  1.  In 
regard  to  the  number  of  Church  members  among  the 
slaves,  I  deny  that  "  a  larger  proportion  of  the  labour- 
ing classes  belong  to  the  Christian  Church  where  the 
labourers  are  chiefly  slaves,  than  in  the  Northern 
States,  where  slavery  does  not  exist." 

2.  Your  second  fact,  that  the  number  of  church 
members  among  the  slaves,  is  nearly  double  the  num- 
ber of  communicants  in  the  heathen  world,  proves 
that  God  has  overruled  the  system  of  slavery  for 
good,  but  not  that  the  Church  has  no  interest  in  its 
abrogation.  When  we  consider  that  at  least  twelve 
31* 


366  PRESBYTERIAN     VIEWS 

thousand  ministers  of  the  Gospel  live  in  the  Slave 
States,  being  in  the  proportion  of  one  minister  to  nine 
hundred  of  the  whole  population,  while,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  number  of  missionaries  among  the  heathen 
is  only  in  the  proportion  of  one  minister  to  three  hun- 
dred thousand  of  the  population,  the  comparison  I  >;. 
no  means  exalts  slavery  as  an  instrument  of  evange- 
lization. Look,  rather,  for  a  better  example  to  the 
Sandwich  Islands,  where  society  has  been  Christianized 
in  a  single  generation. 

The  system  of  slavery,  as  appears  from  the  analy- 
sis of  its  evils  by  our  Kentucky  brethren,  has  so  main 
and  immediate  connections  with  the  life  to  come,  that 
the  Christian  Church  may  wisely  testify  in  favour  of 
its  abrogation,  as  a  lawful  end,  whenever  Providence 
opens  the  way  for  it. 

SECTION    III.  —  SLAVERY    AND    THE    BIBLE. 

The  Word  of  God,  when  fairly  interpreted,  con- 
tains much  instruction  upon  this  subject.  In  the 
first  place,  the  exhortation  of  Paul  to  the  slaves  is : 
"Art  thou  called,  being  a  servant  ?     Care  not  for  it, 

But   IF  THOU  MAYST  BE  FREE,  USE  IT  RATHER."       (1  Cor. 

7  :  21.)  This  last  declaration  proves  that  slavery  is 
not  a  natural  and  permanent  condition ;  that  liberty 
is  a  higher  and  better  state  than  bondage ;  and  that 
emancipation  is  an  object  of  lawful  desire  to  the 
slaves,  and  a  blessing  which  Christian  masters  may 


ON     SLAVEHOLDING.  367 

labour  to  confer  upon  them.  In  endeavoring  to  escape 
the  power  of  this  apostolic  declaration,  you  maintain 
that  it  has  only  a  local  application,  and  that  "  through- 
out the  chapter,  in  answer  to  inquiries  from  the 
Church  at  Corinth,  Paul  is  giving  instruction  with 
especial  regard  to  the  circumstances  in  which  the 
Corinthians  were  placed  at  that  time,  and  hence,  every 
special  item  of  advice  must  be  interpreted  with  this 
fact  in  view."    The  same  thing  is  stated  in  your  book. 

1.  Admitting  your  local  interpretation  to  be  the 
true  one,  what  then?  Does  not  my  good  brother 
Armstrong  see  that,  if  he  in  this  way  gets  rid  of 
Paul's  declaration  in  favour  of  freedom,  he  also  im- 
pairs the  permanent  obligation  of  Christian  slaves  to 
remain  contented  in  their  bondage?  If  the  second 
clause  of  the  sentence  has  a  local  application,  and  is 
limited  to  the  state  of  things  in  the  Corinthian 
Church,  is  not  the  first  clause  limited  by  the  same 
conditions  ? 

2.  Again.  The  Apostle,  in  this  chapter,  carefully 
discriminates  between  what  he  speaks  by  "permis- 
sion" and  what  by  "commandment;"  and  it  is  strange 
logic  that,  because  some  passages,  before  and  after  the 
21st  verse,  are  of  limited  application,  therefore  every 
verse  in  the  chapter  is  so.  All  that  relates  to  virgins, 
and  to  the  temporary  avoidance  of  matrimony,  etc., 
is  declared  to  be  merely  advisory,  in  view  of  the 
existing  state  of  things,  or  "  the  present  distress ;" 


368  PRESBYTERIAN     VIEWS 

whereas,  the  exhortation  to  believers  to  be  contented 
with  their  external  condition,  from  v.  17  to  v.  24.  is 
spoken  by  Divine  authority ;  "  and  so  ordain  I  in  all 
the  churches"  v.  1 7.  The  whole  of  the  passage,  1 7-24, 
is  manifestly  an  authoritative  declaration  of  inspi- 
ration. 

3.  Your  reasoning  in  regard  to  1  Cor.  7  :  21  would 
be  much  more  to  the  purpose,  if  the  hypothesis  were 
that  persons  were  compelled  hy  law  to  enter  into  the 
marriage  state,  or  to  marry  particular  individuals. 
This  would  be  analogous,  in  the  most  material  points. 
to  the  case  of  the  slaves.  Surely,  if  one  might  be 
free  from  such  compulsion,  he  ought  to  choose  it 
rather,  and  that  not  only  in  apostolic  times,  but  in 
every  age. 

Neither  your  incorrect  interpretation  nor  your 
incongruous  illustration  weakens  the  force  of  Paul's 
famous  declaration  in  favour  of  freedom,  as  the  best 
social  condition,  and  one  that  may  rightfully  be  kept 
in  view.  Dr.  Hodge  says,  in  loco :  "  Paul's  object  is 
not  to  exhort  men  not  to  improve  their  condition, 
but  simply  not  to  allow  their  social  relations  to  dis- 
turb them.  He  could,  with  perfect  consistency  with 
the  context,  say,  '  Let  not  your  being  a  slave  give 
you  any  concern ;  but  if  you  can  become  free,  choose 
freedom  rather  than  slavery.' "  If  the  Church,  fol- 
lowing Paul's  example,  can  give  this  exhortation  to 
slaves,  she  can  at  least  exhort  and  advise  masters  to 


ON     SLAVE  HOLDING.  369 

take  measures  to  prepare  their  slaves  for  freedom , 
whenever  Providence  shall  open  the  way  for  its 
blessings. 

I  have  not  rested  the  right  of  the  Church  to  keep 
emancipation  in  view,  simply  upon  this  single  text. 
but  I  have  showed  that,  not  only  do  "the  universal 
spirit  and  principles  of  religion  originate  and  foster 
sentiments  favourable  to  the  natural  rights  of  man- 
kind," but  that "  the  injunctions  of  Scripture  to  mas- 
ters tend  to  and  necessarily  terminate  in  emancipa- 
tion." "  If  the  Scriptures  enjoin  what,  of  necessity, 
leads  to  emancipation,  they  enjoin  emancipation,  when 
the  time  comes;  if  they  forbid  what  is  necessary  to 
the  perpetuity  of  slavery,  they  forbid  that  slavery 
should  be  perpetuated."  "The  Church,  therefore, 
may  script urally  keep  in  view  this  great  moral  result, 
to  the  glory  of  her  heavenly  King."     (See  Letters.) 

SECTION    IV. THINGS    THAT    AVAIL,    OR   AVAIL   NOT. 

1.  You  remind  me  that  "it  will  avail  nothing  to 
show  that  the  Church  has  often  made  deliverances  on 
the  subject  in  years  that  are  passed,''''  and  that  "political 
preaching"  and  "political  church-deliverances"  date 
back  "from  the  days  of  Constantine,"  when  Church 
and  State  became  united.  Here  is  an  ingenious 
attempt  to  dishonour  history,  and  to  beat  down  an- 
cient, as  well  as  modern,  testimony.  (1.)  You  seem  to 
admit,  on  reconsideration,  that  the  general  testimony 

Y 


o70  PRESBYTERIAN     VIEWS 

of  the  Church,  from  the  days  of  Constantino,  is 
against  the  perpetuity  of  slavery.  (2.)  But  how  do 
you  account  for  the  fact  that  the  General  Assembly 
of  our  Church,  which,  from  its  very  organization, 
has  been  free  from  State  dominion,  has  uniformly  tes- 
tified in  favour  of  preparing  the  slaves  for  liberty  ? 
On  referring  to  your  rejoinder,  I  find  this  aberration 
accounted  for  on  the  ground  that  our  Church  has  not 
had  time  to  "  fully  comprehend  her  true  position  ! " 
A  monarchist  might  say  that,  for  the  same  reason, 
our  fathers  prematurely  drew  up  the  DecLi ration  of 
Independence,  not  having  waited  long  enough  to  com- 
prehend the  true  position  of  their  country !  How 
much  time,  beyond  half  a  century,  does  it  take  the 
Presbyterian  Church  to  define  her  interpretation  of 
the  word  of  God  ?  The  last  deliverance  of  the  General 
Assembly,  in  1845,  was  affirmed  by  that  body  to  be 
harmonious  with  the  first  deliverance  in  1787.  Fifty- 
eight  years  produced  no  variation  of  sentiment.  This 
uniform  testimony  of  the  highest  judicatory  of  the 
Church  must  naturally  possess  great  weight,  or  will 
"avail"  much,  with  every  true  Presbyterian.1 


1  If  Dr.  Baxter  was  a  "wiser  man"  "eighteen  years"  after 
1818,  and  was  therefore  entitled  to  the  consideration  of  higher 
wisdom  in  1836,  then  still  higher  wisdom  is  due  to  the  General 
Assembly,  in  1846,  when  that  body  reaffirmed  the  testimony  of 
1 818,  twenty-eight  years  after  the  issuing  of  their  great  document. 

I  have  yet  to  learn  that  Dr.  Baxter  changed  his  views  on  the 
Mibject  of  slavery.     At  least,  no  quotation  of  his  sentiments  by 


ON     SLA  VEHOLDING.  371 

2.  You  add  :  "  Nor  will  it  avail  to  show  that  eman- 
cipation has  a  bearing  upon  the  well-being  of  a  people 
— even  their  spiritual  well-being."  I  am  truly  glad  to 
obtain  from  Dr.  Armstrong  this  incidental  and  gratui- 
tous admission,  that  emancipation  really  has  a  bear- 
ing upon  the  best  interests  of  the  human  family.  I 
thank  my  good  brother  for  it ;  although  he  immedi- 
ately attempts  to  nullify  it  by  the  declaration  that 
"commerce,  railways,  agriculture,  manufactures,"  etc., 
which  also  promote  the  welfare  of  society,  cannot, 
simply  on  that  account,  become  the  subjects  of  eccle- 
siastical concern.  Our  Foreign  Missionary  Board 
might  certainly  build  or  charter  a  vessel,  if  necessary ; 
and  it  actually  sends  out  printers  to  work  presses, 
farmers  to  till  the  soil,  and  physicians  to  minister  to 
bodily  health.  On  the  same  principle,  it  might  send 
out  "  bells "  for  the  mission  churches,  or  even  cast 
them  in  "  foundries,"  if  bells  were  of  sufficient  im- 
portance, and  could  not  be  otherwise  obtained.  But 
the  principle  on  which  the  Church  testifies  in  favour 
of  emancipation  is,  that  it  is  a  moral  duty  to  set 
slaves  free,  when  prepared  in  God's  providence  for 
freedom;  and  if  the  performance  of  amoral  duty  has 
"  a  bearing  upon  the  well-being  of  a  people,"  must  it 
therefore  be  set  aside  ? 

Dr.  Armstrong  proves  it.  I  have  sought  in  vain  for  a  copy  of 
Dr.  Baxter's  pamphlet.  Will  any  friend  present  a  copy  to  the 
Presbyterian  Historical  Society  ?  —  C.  V.  R. 


372  PRESBYTERIAN    VIEWS 

3.  You  also  state  that  it  will  avail  nothing  in  this 
argument,  unless  I  can  show  that  yon  "place  emanci- 
pation in  the  wrong  category,  or  that  the  Church  has  a 
right  to  meddle  with  politics"  This  is  going  over 
ground  already  discussed.  Let  me  say,  again,  that 
the  exhortation  of  the  Church  to  keep  emancipation 
as  an  end  in  view,  does  not  prescribe  either  the  mode 
or  the  time  of  emancipation,  and  does  not  in  any  waj 
come  in  conflict  with  the  State;  and  the  Church 
does  not  "  meddle  with  politics,"  when  she  concerns 
herself  about  moral  duties.  If  it  be  a  moral  duty 
for  a  Christian  to  elevate  his  slaves  and  to  set  them 
free,  when  prepared  for  freedom,  the  Church  has  a 
right  to  make  that  declaration,  provided  she  thinks  it 
fairly  deducible  from  the  spirit,  principles,  and  pre- 
cepts of  the  word  of  God. 

SECTION"    V. A    NEW    QUESTION  !       POLITICS.       SCHEMES 

OF    EMANCIPATION.      COLONIZATION,    ETC. 

The  largest  part  of  your  Rejoinder  is  taken  up 
with  new  matter,  which  is  foreign  to  the  discussion  of 
"  Emancipation  and  the  Church,"  and  which,  accord- 
ing to  law,  is  irrevalent  in  a  rejoinder,  the  nature  of 
which  is  an  answer  to  a  previous  Replication.  T 
regret  that  you  have  insisted  upon  opening  this  new 
field  of  discussion ;  but,  believing  that  your  remarks 
leave  wrong  impressions  upon  the  mind  of  the  reader, 
I  shall  take  advantage  of  the  occasion  to  throw  out 
suggestions  from  a  different  stand-point. 


ON     SLAVE  HOLDING.  $73 

SECTION    VI. POPULAR    ERRORS. 

I  propose,  without  finding  fault  with  some  of  the 
popular  errors  on  your  list,  to  add  to  their  number. 
I  do  this,  in  order  to  present  additional  and  true  ele- 
ments which  belong  to  the  solution  of  this  intricate 
and  difficult  problem. 

I.  It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  the  slaves  have 
not  a  natural  desire  for  freedom,  however  erroneous 
may  be  their  views  of  freedom.  There  are  certain 
natural  impulses  which  belong  to  man,  by  the  consti- 
tution of  his  being.  No  slavery  can  quench  the  as- 
pirings for  liberty.  In  the  language  of  the  late  Gov. 
McDowell,  one  of  your  old  fellow-citizens,  at  Lex- 
ington, and  one  of  Virginia's  noblest  sons :  "  Sir,  you 
may  place  the  slave  where  you  please ;  you  may  dry 
up  to  your  uttermost  the  fountains  of  his  feelings, 
the  springs  of  his  thought ;'  you  may  close  upon  his 
mind  every  avenue  of  knowledge,  and  cloud  it  over 
.  with  artificial  night ;  you  may  yoke  him  to  your  la- 
bours as  the  ox  which  liveth  only  to  work,  arid  work- 
eth  only  to  live ;  you  may  put  him  under  any  pro- 
cess, which,  without  destroying  his  value  as  a  slave, 
will  debase  and  crush  him  as  a  rational  being ;  you 
may  do  this,  and  the  idea  that  he  was  born  to  be  free 
will  survive  it  all.  It  is  allied  to  his  hope  of  immor- 
tality —  it  is  the  ethereal  part  of  his  nature,  which 
oppression  cannot  rend.  It  is  a  torch  lit  up  in  his 
32 


374  PRESBYTERIAN     VIEWS 

soul  by  the  hand  of  the  Deity,  and  never  meant  to 
be  extinguished  by  the  hand  of  man." 

If  the  desire  of  the  slaves  for  freedom  be  not  as 
intelligent  as  it  might  be,  the  excuse  lie>  partly  in 
the  want  of  opportunities  to  acquire  higher  knowl- 
edge, and  partly  in  the  bad  example  of  idleness  set 
by  the  free  blacks  and  by  the  whites.  And  if  the 
privilege  of  liberty  were  granted  in  society  only  to 
those  who  entertained  entirely  correct  views  of  its 
nature,  how  many  thousands  of  free  citizens  in  this, 
and  in  all  lands,  ought  to  be  reduced  to  slavery  ?  It 
deserves  to  be  remarked  in  all  candour,  and  without 
disparagement,  that  there  is  danger  of  the  preva- 
lence, in  a  slaveholding  community,  of  an  unintel- 
ligent estimate  of  the  value  of  future  liberty  to  the 
slaves. 

II.  It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  slaves  possess 
no  natural  rights.  Their  present  incapacity  to  "  ex- 
ercise beneficially  these  rights"  does  not  destroy  the 
title  to  them,  but  only  suspends  it.  In  the  mean- 
time, thk  slaves  possess  the  correlative  right  of  being 
math  prepared  for  the  equal  privileges  of  the  whole 
family  of  man. 

Your  remark  that  slavery  secures  to  the  slaves  the 
right  to  labour  in  a  better  way  "  than  it  is  secured 
to  a  more  elevated  race  of  labourers  in  Europe,  under 
any  of  the  systems  which  prevail  among  the  civilized 
nations  of  the  Old  World,"  will  hardly  be  received 


ON     SLAVEHOLDING.  375 

by  autocrats  and  despots  as  a  plea  for  reviving  sla- 
very on  the  continent.  Indeed,  the  new  Emperor, 
Alexander,  of  Russia,  is  engaged,  at  this  very  time, 
in  the  great  work  of  doing  homage  to  Christian 
civilization  by  emancipating  all  the  serfs  of  the 
empire. 

III.  Another  error  consists  in  regarding  the  Afri- 
cans as  an  inferior  race,  fit  only  to  be  slaves.  Infi- 
delity, as  you  are  aware,  has  been  active  at  the  South 
in  inducing  the  belief  that  the  negro  belongs  to  an 
inferior,  if  not  a  distinct  race.  This  doctrine  is  the 
only  foundation  of  perpetual  slavery.1  It  is  alike 
hostile  to  emancipation  and  injurious  to  all  efforts  to 
elevate  the  negro  to  his  true  position  as  a  fellow-man 
and  an  immortal.  The  slaves  belong  to  Adam's  race ; 
are  by  nature  under  the  wrath  and  curse,  even  as 
others ;  subjects  of  the  same  promises ;  partakers  of 
the  same  blessings  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  heirs  of  the 
same  eternal  inheritance.  How  the  last  great  day 
will  dissipate  unscriptural  and  inhuman  prejudices 
against  these  children  of  the  common  brotherhood ! 

IV.  It  is  an  error  to  suppose  that  slavery  is  not  re- 
■■■  onsible  for  suffering,  vice,  and  crime,  prevalent  under 

1  This  defence  of  perpetual  slavery  is  as  old  as  Aristotle.  That 
philosopher,  wishing  to  establish  some  plausible  plea  for  slavery, 
^avs  :  "  The  barbarians  are  of  a  different  race  from  us,  and. 
were  born  to  be,  slaves  to  the  Greeks."1  To  use  the  language  of 
chess,  this  doctrine  is  "Aristotle's  opening  " 


376  PRESBYTERIAN     VIEWS 

its  dominion.  Even  were  the  slaves,  if  set  free,  to 
degenerate  into  a  lower  condition,  slavery  cannot  es- 
cape from  the  responsibility  of  being  an  abettor  of 
many  injuries  and  evils.  Much  of  the  vice  and 
crime  of  the  manufacturing  districts  of  England  is 
undoubtedly  owing  to  that  system  of  labour,  which 
thus  becomes  responsible  for  it.  According  to  your 
theory,  it  would  seem  that  no  system  of  social  or 
political  despotism  is  accountable  for  the  darkness 
and  degradation  of  the  people.  It  is  sin  that  causes 
all  the  maladies  of  slavery  !  But  is  there  no  connec- 
tion between  slavery  and  sin,  as  demonstrated  by  the 
experience  of  ages  ?  Is  slavery  a  system  so  innocent 
as  to  cast  off  the  obligation  to  answer  for  all  the  suf- 
fering and  wickedness  that  have  been  perpetrated 
under  its  connivance  ?  Far  be  it  from  me  to  deny 
whatever  good  has  been  accomplished,  in  divine  Pro- 
vidence, through  human  bondage.  God  brings  good 
out  of  evil ;  but  I  cannot  shut  my  eyes  to  the  con- 
viction that  slavery  is  directly  responsible  to  God  for 
a  large  amount  of  iniquity,  both  among  the  whites 
and  the  blacks,  which,  like  a  dark  cloud,  is  rolling  its 
way  to  the  judgment. 

V.  It  is  an  error  to  suppose  that  the  African  slave- 
trade  ought  to  be  revived.  Among  all  the  popular 
errors  of  the  day,  this  is  the  most  mischievous  and 
wicked.  God  denounces  the  traffic  in  human  flesh 
and  blood.    It  has  the  taint  of  murder.    Our  national 


ON     SLAVEHOLDING.  377 

legislation  righteously  classes  it  with  piracy,  and  con- 
demns its  abettors  to  the  gallows.  And  yet,  in  Con- 
ventions and  Legislatures  of  a  number  of  the  slave- 
holding  States,  the  revival  of  the  African  slave-trade 
meets  with  favour.  This  fact  is  an  ominous  proof 
of  the  demoralization  of  public  sentiment,  under  the 
influence  and  operation  of  a  system  of  slavery. 

VI.  Another  error  is,  that  slacery  is  a  permanent 
institution.  Slavery  in  the  United  States  must  come 
to  an  end.  Christianity  is  arraying  the  public  opinion 
of  the  world  against  it.  The  religion  of  Jesus  Christ 
never  has,  and  never  can  countenance  the  perpetuity 
of  human  bondage.  The  very  soil  of  the  planting 
States,  which  is  growing  poorer  and  poorer  every  year, 
refuses  to  support  slavery  in  the  long  run.  Its  im- 
poverished fields  are  not  often  renovated,  and  the 
system  must  in  time  die  the  death  of  its  own  sluggish 
doom.  Besides,  the  competition  of  free  labour  must 
add  to  the  embarrassments  of  slavery.  Even  Africa 
herself  may  yet  contend  with  the  slave  productions 
of  America,  in  the  market  of  the  world. 

In  short,  slavery  is  compelled  to  extinction  by  the 
operation  of  natural  laws  in  the  providence  of  the 
ever-living  God  —  which  laws  act  in  concert  with  the 
spirit  and  principles  of  his  illuminating  word. 

VII.  Another  popular  delusion  is,  that  slavery  will 
always  be  a  safe  system.  Thus  far,  the  African  race 
has  exhibited  extraordinary  docility.      Will  this  sub- 

32* 


-)78  PRESBYTERIAN     VIEWS 

mission  endure  forever?  God  grant  thai  h  may! 
But  who,  that  has   a  knowledge  of  human   nature, 

does  not  tremble  in  view  of  future  insurrections, 
under  the  newly  devised  provocations  of  reviving  the 
slave-trade,  banishing  the  live  blacks  from  the  soil. 
and  prohibiting  emancipation  ?  Granting  that  insur- 
rections will  be  always  suppressed  in  the  end.  yet 
what  terrific  scenes  of  slaughter  may  they  enact  on 
a  small  scale  ;  what  terror  will  tiny  eanj  into  thou- 
sands of  households;  and  what  hatred  and  enmity 
will  they  provoke  between  the  two  races  !  The  future 
of  slavery  in  America  will  present,  in  all  probability, 
a  dark  and  gloomy  history,  unless  our  beloved  breth- 
ren exert  themselves,  in  season,  to  arrest  its  progress, 
and  to  provide  for  it<  extinction. 

The  prevalent  sentiment  in  Virginia,  in  1832,  was 
thus  uttered  in  the  Legislature  by  Mr.  Chandler,  of 
Norfolk:  "It  is  admitted  by  all  who  have  addressed 
i his  house,  that  slavery  is  a  curse,  and  an  increasing 
one.  That  it  has  been  destructive  to  the  lives  of  our 
citizens,  history,  with  unerring  truth,  will  record. 
That  its  future  increase  will  create  commotion,  can- 
not be  doubted." 

Vlll.  Another  mistake  is.  that  nothing  can  be  clone 
for  the  removal  of  slavery.  Elevation  is  the  grand 
demand  oi'  any.  and  every,  scheme  of  emancipation. 
( 'an  nothing  more  be  done  for  the  intellectual  and  moral 
elevation  of  the  slaves?     Much  is,  indeed,  already  in 


ON     SLAVEHOLDING.  379 

process  of  accomplishment;  but  this  work  is  left  rather 
to  individual  Christian  exertion,  than  to  the  benevo- 
lent operation  of  public  laws.  The  laws  generally  dis- 
courage education,  and  thus  disown  the  necessity  of 
enlarged  measures  for  intellectual  improvement.  If 
it  be  said  that  education  and  slavery  are  inconsistent 
with  each  other,  the  excuse  is  proof  of  the  natural 
tendency  of  the  system  to  degradation.  Who  will 
deny,  however,  that  a  great  deal  more  might  be  done 
to  prepare  the  slaves  for  freedom  by  private  effort 
and  by  public  legislation?  Can  it  be  doubted  that 
measures,  favouring  prospective  emancipation,  might 
be  wisely  introduced  into  many  of  the  Slave  States? 
If  there  were,  first,  a  willing  mind,  could  there  not 
be  found,  next,  a  practicable  way  ?  Philip  A.  Bol- 
ling,  of  Buckingham,  declared  in  the  Virginia  Legis- 
lature, in  1832  :  "  The  day  is  fast  approaching,  when 
those  who  oppose  all  action  on  this  subject,  and  in- 
stead of  aiding  in  devising  some  feasible  plan  for 
freeing;  their  countrv  from  an  acknowledged  curse, 
cry  'impossible'  to  every  plan  suggested,  will  curse 
their  perverseness  and  lament  their  folly."  This  is 
strong  language.  It  comes  from  one  of  the  public 
men  of  your  own  State,  and  is  adapted  to  awaken 
thought. 

IX.  The  last  popular  error  I  shall  specify,  is,  that 
none  of  the  slave*  are  now  prepared  for  freeclorn. 
Whilst  I  am  opposed  to  a  scheme  of  immediate  and 


380  PRESBYTERIAN     VIEWS 

universal  emancipation,  for  reasons  that  need  not  be 
stated,  I  suppose  that  a  large  number  of  slaves  are 
capable  of  rising  at  once  to  the  responsibilities  of 
freedom,  under  favouring  circumstances,  for  example, 
in  Liberia.  Probably  Norfolk  itself  could  furnish 
scores  of  such  persons,  or,  to  keep  within  bounds,  one 
score.  There  must  be  thousands  throughout  the  plan- 
tations of  the  South,  who  are,  in  a  good  degree,  pre- 
pared to  act  well  their  part  in  free  and  congenial  com- 
munities. Such  a  representation  honours  the  civilizing 
power  of  slavery,  and  has  an  important  bearing  on 
schemes  of  emancipation. 


SECTION    VII. SCHEMES   OF   EMANCIPATION. 

I  am  now  prepared  to  follow  your  example  in  offer- 
ing some  remarks  on  "  emancipation  laws." 

Allow  me  here  to  repeat  my  regret  that  you  have 
persisted  in  discussing  this  subject.  First,  because  it 
is  foreign  to  the  topic  of  "  Emancipation  and  the 
Church  • "  secondly,  because  the  discussion  involves 
speculations  rather  than  principles ;  and  thirdly,  be- 
cause no  living  man  can,  on  the  one  side  or  the  other, 
deliver  very  clear  utterances,  especially  without  more 
study  than  I,  for  one,  have  been  able  to  give  to  the 
subject.  Good,  however,  will  result  from  an  inter- 
change of  opinions.  My  chief  motive  in  noticing 
this  new  part  of  your  Rejoinder,  on  Emancipation,  is 


ON     SLAVE  HOLDING.  381 

an  unwillingness  to  allow  your  pro-slavery  views  to 
go  forth  in  this  Magazine  without  an  answer. 

You  are  right,  I  think,  in  supposing  that  the  best 
emancipation  scheme  practicable  would  embrace  the 
following  particulars : 

"  (1.)  A  law  prospective  in  its  operation — say  that 
all  slaves  born  after  a  certain  year,  shall  become  free 
at  the  age  of  twenty-five. 

"  (2.)  Provision  for  the  instruction  of  those  to  be 
emancipated  in  the  rudiments  of  learning. 

"  (3.)  Provision  for  their  transfer  and  comfortable 
settlement  in  Africa,  when  they  become  free." 

Your  first  objection  to  this  scheme  is  that,  "in  its 
practical  working,  it  would  prove,  to  a  very  large 
extent,  a  transportation,  and  not  an  emancipation 
law."     Let  us  look  at  this  objection. 

1.  Many  owners  of  slaves  would  go  with  them  into 
other  States,  and  thus  no  injury  would  be  inflicted 
upon  the  slaves,  whilst  the  area  of  freedom  behind 
them  would  be  enlarged. 

2.  Many  masters  would  make  diligent  and  earnest 
efforts  to  prepare  their  slaves  for  freedom,  on  their 
plantations,  even  if  other  masters  sold  their  slaves 
for  transportation. 

3.  If  some,  or  many,  of  the  masters  were  to  sell 
their  slaves,  it  would  be  doing  no  more  than  is  done 
in  Virginia,  at  the  present  time.     The  number  of 


382  PRESBYTERIAN     VIEWS 

Virginia  slaves  transported  annually  into  other  States. 
has  been  estimated  as  high  as  fifty  thousand. 

4.  A  compensation  clause  might  be  attached  to  the 
plan  we  are  considering,  with  a  prohibition  against 
transportation. 

5.  The  objection  is  founded  upon  the  supposition 
that  only  some  of  the  States  adopted  the  emancipa- 
tion scheme.  The  objection  would  also  be  diminished 
in  force,  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  States  adopt- 
ing the  scheme,  because  the  supply  of  slaves  may 
become  greater  than  the  demand. 

6.  Some  evils,  necessarily  attendant  upon  general 
schemes  of  emancipation,  are  more  than  counterbal- 
anced by  the  greater  good  accomplished.  If  Dela- 
ware, Maryland,  Virginia,  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  and 
Missouri,  were  to  adopt  a  scheme  of  prospective  eman- 
cipation,1 the  general  advantage  to  those  States,  in  a 
social,  moral,  intellectual,  and  economical  point  of 
view,  would  more  than  counterbalance  the  inherent 
and  minor  evils  incident  to  the  scheme.  The  addi- 
tion of  six  new  States  to  the  area  of  freedom  would 
probably  outweigh  all  the  trials  incident  to  the  transi- 
tion period. 

An  emancipation  scheme,  similar  to  that  pro- 
pounded, was  tested  in  the  Northern  States,  where 
it  succeeded  well ;  and  you  could  not  have  appealed 
to  a  better  illustration  of  its  wisdom.     The  number 


1  Ought  not  such  a  scheme  to  begin  with  these  States  ? 


ON     SLAVE  HOLDING.  383 

of  slaves  transported  could  not  have  been  very  great, 
because  the  whole  number  in  New  England,  New 
York,  New  Jersey,  and  Pennsylvania,  was  only  about 
40,000  in  the  year  1790,  when  these  schemes  were 
generally  commenced,  and  the  number  of  Africans  in 
those  States  was  more  than  double  at  the  next  census. 
On  the  whole,  a  prospective  emancipation  scheme, 
with  or  without  a  compensation  or  prohibitory  clause, 
would,  in  the  States  named,  do  more,  in  the  end,  in 
behalf  of  the  African  race  and  the  cause  of  freedom, 
than  the  inactive  policy  of  doing  nothing. 

Objection  2d.  You  object  to  the  plan,  "on  the 
ground  that  the  slave  race  cannot  be  prepared  for 
freedom  by  any  short  course  of  education,  such  as 
that  proposed." 

1.  Suppose  that  the  Legislature  of  Virginia  should 
enact  that  all  slaves  born  after  1870,  shall  become 
free  at  the  age  of  twenty-five.  The  course  of  educa- 
tion would  be  precisely  as  long  as  the  process  of  nature 
allows.  It  would  embrace  the  ichole  of  the  training 
period  of  an  entire  gent ration ;  and  with  the  intel- 
lectual and  moral  resources  already  in  possession  of 
the  African  race  in  Virginia,  a  general  and  faithful 
effort  to  elevate  the  young  would  result,  under  God. 
in  a  substantial  advancement  of  condition,  auguring 
well  for  freedom. 

2.  Your  own  experiment  with  the  two  slaves  is  just 


384  PRESBYTERIAN     VIEWS 

in  point.  It  shows  how  much  can  be  done,  on  a  small 
scale,  and  if  so,  on  a  larger  scale.  These  slaves  were 
taught  to  read  and  write ;  they  were  fitted  for  freedom 
at  the  age  of  thirty- two;  and  they  were  then  set  free, 
as  "  good  colonists  for  Liberia."  Although  they  did 
not  ultimately  go  to  Liberia,  perhaps  their  addition 
"to  the  number  of  free  negroes  in  Virginia,"  was 
esteemed  by  them  a  higher  benefit  than  it  seems  to 
you.  They  were,  at  any  rate,  qualified  for  freedom 
in  Liberia. 

3.  To  the  idea  that  all  the  emancipated  slaves  ought 
to  be  "  compelled  to  go  to  Liberia,"  you  present  three 
difficulties.  (1.)  "It  is  in  vain  to  expect  to  make 
good  citizens  for  Liberia,  by  sending  them  there 
against  their  will,  like  convicts  to  a  penal  colony."  I 
reply,  that  Liberia  is  becoming  to  the  African  race 
more  and  more  an  object  of  desire ;  that  there  is  no 
more  compulsion  in  the  case  than  their  own  best  inte- 
rests demand,  as  persons  who,  up  to  that  period,  are 
in  the  state  of  minors ;  that  the  prospect  of  liberty 
in  Liberia  is  very  different  from  that  of  penal  labour 
and  suffering  by  convicts ;  and  that,  if  your  remark 
be  true,  that  it  is  vain  to  expect  to  make  "  good  citi- 
zens for  Liberia,  by  sending  them  against  their  will," 
is  it  not  equally  vain  to  expect  to  make  good  citizens 
of  slaves  by  keeping  them  in  slavery  "  against  their 
will?"  (2.)  You  say  that  we  deceive  ourselves  in 
speaking  of  Africa  as  "  their  native  country,"  "  their 


ON     SLAVE HOLDING. 

home."  I  reply  that  the  race-mark  indelibly  identi- 
fies the  slaves  with  Africa;  that  their  own  traditions 
connect  them  with  their  fatherland ;  that  the  deci- 
sions of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court  deny  them 
to  be  "  citizens  "  of  this  country ;  and  that  their  own 
affections  are  becoming  stronger  and  stronger  in  favour 
of  returning  to  Africa,  as  their  minds  become  enlight- 
ened. (3.)  Another  obstacle  to  "  compulsoiy  expa- 
triation," in  your  judgment,  is,  that  it  would  "  sunder 
ties  both  of  family  and  affection."  I  reply,  not  neces- 
sarily either  the  one  or  the  other,  as  a  general  rule. 
On  the  supposition  of  a  compensation  law,  which  is 
the  true  principle,  there  would  be  no  sundering  of 
family  ties ;  and  as  to  ties  of  affection  for  their  mas- 
ters or  friends  left  behind,  every  emigrant  to  our 
Western  States  expects  to  bear  them.  Besides,  in- 
stead of  a  "  compulsory  expatriation,"  it  would  be 
virtually  a  voluntary  return  to  the  land  of  their 
fathers. 

Objection  3d.  Your  third  objection  to  the  proposed 
gradual  emancipation  scheme  is,  that  you  "do  not 
see  the  least  prospect  of  Liberia  being  able  to  do  the 
part  assigned  to  it  in  this  plan  for  a  long  time  to 
come."     This  is  the  objection  of  greatest  weight. 

SECTION   VIII. LIBERIAN    COLONIZATION. 

You  will  agree  with  me,  if  I  mistake  not,  in  three 
particulars : 

33  z 


386  PRESBYTERIAN    VIEWS 

1.  African  colonization  is  a  scheme,  founded  in 
wise  and  far-reaching  views  of  African  character  and 
destiny.  The  coloured  race  can  never  attain  to  social 
and  political  elevation  in  the  United  States.  The 
experience  of  the  past  is  a  demonstration  against  the 
continuance  of  the  two  races  in  this  country  on  terms 
favourable  to  the  negroes ;  and  there  is  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  the  future  will  be  a  period  of  increased  dis- 
advantage and  hardship.  The  colonization  of  the 
coloured  people  in  Africa  is,  therefore,  in  its  concep- 
tion, a  scheme  of  profound  wisdom  and  true  benevo- 
lence. 

2.  You  will  also  agree  with  me  in  the  opinion  that 
the  measures  for  Liberian  Colonization  may  be  indefi- 
nitely extended.  Territory,  larger  than  the  Atlantic 
slope,  may  be  procured  in  the  interior  of  Africa  ; 
money  enough  may  be  obtained  from  the  sale  of  the 
public  lands,  or  from  other  national  resources ;  ves- 
sels are  already  on  hand  to  meet  the  demands  of  the 
largest  transportation;  and  emigrants,  of  a  hopeful 
character,  and  in  large  numbers,  may  be  expected  to 
present  themselves,  at  the  indicated  time,  in  the  pro- 
vidence of  God.  There  are  no  limits  to  the  plan  of 
Liberian  Colonization.  Your  own  faith  in  its  ulti- 
mate capabilities,  seems  to  be  shaded  with  doubt, 
only  in  reference  to  the  question  of  time. 

3.  Further.  You  will  agree  with  me  in  the  opinion 
that  much  more  might  be  done,  at  once,  in  the  actual 


ON    SLAVEHOLDING.  387 


working  of  the  Liberian  scheme.  Among  the  col- 
oured population  in  this  country  are  large  numbers, 
both  bond  and  free,  who  are  superior  to  the  average 
class  of  emigrants  already  sent  out. 

SECTION    IX.  —  WHICH    CLASS    SHOULD    BE    SENT   FIRST, 
THE    FREE,    OR    THE    SLAVES. 

In  your  judgment,  we  ought  "  to  adhere  to  the 
course  marked  out  by  the  founders  of  the  Coloniza- 
tion Society,  and  attend  first  to  the  free  people  of 
colour ;  and  only  after  our  work  here  has  been  done, 
ought  we  to  think  of  resorting  to  colonization  as  an 
adjunct  to  emancipation." 

1.  The  discussion  of  this  issue  is  outside  even  of 
the  new  theme ;  because  the  plan  of  emancipation, 
proposed  by  yourself,  assumes  the  colonization  of  the 
slaves  as  one  of  its  main  features.  I  submit  that  it 
is  not  in  order  to  deny  your  own  admissions. 

2.  The  colonization  of  slaves,  when  set  free,  is 
precisely  in  accordance  with  the  constitution  of  the 
American  Colonization  Society.  And  the  Society  has 
been  acting  upon  this  principle  from  the  beginning. 
The  majority  of  emigrants  belong  to  the  class  that 
were  once  slaves,  and  who  have  been  made  free  with 
the  object  of  removal  to  Africa,  as  colonists. 

3.  I  see  no  reason  why  the  sympathy  of  philan- 
thropy should  be  first  concentrated  upon  the  free 
blacks.     This  class  of  our  population  are,  indeed,  en- 


388  PRESBYTERIAN     VIEWS 

titled  to  our  warm  interest  and  our  Christian  exertions 
to  promote  their  welfare ;  but  why  to  an  exclusive 
and  partial  benevolence  ?  If  you  reply,  as  you  do, 
because  "  the  condition  of  the  free  people  of  colour 
is  worse  than  that  of  our  slaves,"  then  I  beg  leave  to 
call  in  question  the  statement,  and  to  invalidate  it,  in 
part,  by  your  own  declaration,  that  at  least  fifty  thou- 
sand of  the  free  blacks  are  more  intelligent  and  bet- 
ter prepared  for  colonization  than  can  be  found  among 
the  slaves.  When  the  exigency  of  the  argument  re- 
quires you  to  sustain  slavery,  }-ou  depreciate  the  free 
blacks  and  make  them  "  lower  than  the  slaves ;"  but 
when  colonization  demands  the  best  quality  of  emi- 
grants, then  you  depreciate  the  slaves  and  point  to 
u  fifty  thousand"  free  blacks,  who  are  superior  to 
slaves. 

4.  I  might  assign  many  reasons  why,  if  Liberian 
colonization  be  a  benevolent  scheme,  the  race  in  sla- 
very ought  not  to  be  excluded  from  its  benefits.  But, 
this  point  being  assumed,  as  I  have  stated,  an  axiom 
of  our  problem,  it  is  unnecessary  to  establish  it  by 
argument. 

5.  Let  us  compromise  this  issue  on  a  principle  of 
Christian  equity,  viz. :  simultaneous  efforts  should  be 
made  to  colonize  the  blacks  who  are  already  free,  and 
those  who  may  be  set  free  for  that  purpose.  You 
will  not  deny  that  there  are  hundreds  and  thousands 
of  Christian  slaves  who,  if  emancipated,  would  make 


ON     SLAVEHOLDING.       >  389 

good  citizens  of  Liberia.  Why,  then,  should  the  so- 
cial and  political  elevation  of  these  men  be  postponed, 
and  the  good  they  might  do  in  Africa  be  lost,  simply 
because  there  are  free  people  of  colour  in  the  land, 
who  are  also  proper  subjects  of  colonization? 

SECTION   X. — WHAT   THE   COLONIZATION"    SOCIETY   HAS 

DONE. 

Before  the  establishment  of  the  Republic  of  Libe- 
ria, the  future  of  the  African  race,  in  this  country, 
was  dreary  and  almost  without  hope.  The  mind  of 
the  philanthropist  had  no  resting-place  for  its  anxious 
thoughts ;  the  pious  slaveholder  lived  in  faith,  with- 
out the  suggestion  of  any  effectual  remedy ;  and  the 
negro  race  in  America  seemed  doomed  to  labour  for 
generations,  and  then  sink  away  or  perish.  In  GodV 
good  time,  a  Republic  springs  up  in  the  Eastern 
world!  It  is  an  African  Republic;  and  composed 
mainly  of  those  who  once  were  slaves  in  America. — 
What  an  event  in  the  history  of  civilization  !  Even 
in  this  last  half  century  of  wonders,  it  stands  out  in 
the  greatness  of  moral  and  political  pre-eminence. 

For  some  account  of  the  results  of  African  Coloni- 
zation,! refer  you  to  my  Address  at  the  opening  of 
the  Ashmun  Institute,  entitled,  "  God  glorified  by 
Africa."  It  is  sufficient  here  to  say  that  the  Libe- 
rian  Republic,  with  its  institutions  of  freedom,  con- 
tains about  10,000  emigrants  from  America,  of  whom 
33* 


390  PRESBYTERIAN    VIEWS 

0000  were  once  Southern  slaves.  Its  schools,  acade- 
mies, and  churches ;  its  growing  commerce,  improving 
agriculture,  and  intelligent  legislation;  its  favourable 
location,  Protestantism,  and  Anglo-Saxon  speech  :  all 
conspire  to  demonstrate  the  truth  of  the  principles 
on  which  it  was  founded,  and  to  develop  a  national 
prosperity  rarely  equalled  in  the  history  of  coloniza- 
tion. 

In  short,  the  Liberian  Republic  is  a  good  work,  well 
done,  Laus  Deo  ! 

SECTION   XI.  —  WHAT    MAY   BE    REASONABLY   EXPECTED 
OF    LIBERIA. 

Let  us  be  hopeful.  Cheer  up,  brother  Armstrong ! 
Ethiopia  is  yet  to  stretch  out  her  hands  unto  God.  An 
eminent  Southern  divine  has  well  said,  "  I  acknow- 
ledge the  duty,  which  rests  upon  all,  to  hope  great 
things,  and  attempt  great  things,  and  look  with  holy 
anxiety  at  the  signs  of  the  times." 

I.  Let  us  hope  great  things.  "  Hope,  that  is  seen, 
is  not  hope ; "  and  I  may  add,  without  irreverence, 
hope,  that  will  not  see,  is  not  hope.  Your  views 
about  the  permanence  of  slavery  prevent  the  access 
to  your  mind  of  large  hopes  from  the  Liberian  scheme. 
In  your  Letters  and  Rejoinders,  you  several  times 
express  doubt  whether  slavery  in  the  United  States 
is  ever  to  end  !  Nor  does  it  seem  to  you  very  desi- 
rable that  it  should  end. 


ON     S  L  A  V  E  II  0  L  D  I  X  G  .  3D  1 

II.  The  people  of  God  should  attempt  great  things 
for  the  African  race.  Prosperity  has  attended  Afri- 
can colonization  thus  far ;  and  under  circumstances 
to  stimulate  to  more  active  and  extended  efforts. 

Assimilation.  The  great  obstacle  is,  as  you  state. 
••  the  difficulty  in  assimilating  such  an  immigration 
as  we  are  able  to  send"  to  Liberia. 

The  fact  of  an  "indiscriminate  immigration,"  com- 
posed chiefly  of  slaves,  accomplishing  so  much  in  Li- 
beria, is  very  encouraging  in  regard  to  the  possibility 
of  success  on  a  larger  scale. 

The  emigrants  to  be  sent  out  by  the  scheme  of 
emancipation  under  review,  would  be  of  a  higher  cha- 
racter than  the  class  already  there.     One  of  the  fea- 
tures of  this  plan  involves  "  provision  for  the  instruc- 
tion of  those  to  be  emancipated   in  the  rudiments  of 
learning."     Education  is,  under  God.  a  mighty  eleva- 
tor.    The  question,  whether  a  people  shall  be  raised 
up  in  the  scale  of  intelligence,  or  be  allowed  to  re- 
main unlettered  and  in  gross  ignorance,  decides  the 
destiny  of  nations.      It  will  certainly  decide  the  des- 
tiny  of  African    colonization.      The    proposed   plan 
contemplates  a  long  interval  of  preparation,  an  inter- 
val of  thirty-seven  years,  during  which  time   a  new 
generation  is  to  come  forward  under  a  full  system  of 
"Christian   appliances."     A  very  different   class  of 
emigrants  will,  therefore,  be  made  ready  for  coloniza- 
tion.    Nor  is  it  chimerical  to  suppose  that  great  ele- 


392  PRESBYTERIAN     VIEWS 

vation  of  character  would  attend  measures  for  the 
instruction  of  the  young  slaves,  under  the  kindly  in- 
tercourse, supervision,  and  example  of  one  and  a 
quarter  millions  of  white  members  of  the  Church  of 
Christ,  and  twelve  thousand  ministers  of  the  Gospel. 
These  emigrants,  thus  prepared  for  freedom,  would 
be  prepared  for  assimilation. 

The  difficulty  of  foreign  immigration  to  this  coun- 
try is  in  its  diversity  and  irreligion.  Speaking  foreign 
tongues,  trained  to  different  habits  and  customs,  de- 

C  7  7 

based  by  Roman  superstition,  or  corrupted  by  Ger- 
man infidelity,  the  mass  of  our  immigrants  are  far 
more  difficult  to  fuse  into  our  existing  population  than 
would  be  the  Africans  into  their  own  met-  at  Liberia. 
In  the  case  of  colonization  in  Liberia,  the  population 
would  be  homogeneous,  of  a  more  intelligent  order 
than  the  original  population,  and  under  the  influences 
of  the  Christian  religion. 

African  character  is  improving  in  Liberia.  Instead 
of  deteriorating,  as  when  in  contact  with  the  white 
race,  it  is  now  gaining  admiration  in  the  political 
world.  What  has  been  wanting  to  raise  the  negro 
character  is  education,  the  habit  of  self-reliance,  and 
a  fair  opportunity  for  development  on  a  field  of  its 
own,  unhindered  by  contact  with  the  white  race. — 
An  illustration  of  the  elevating  power  of  a  removal 

1  This  is  the  best  estimate  I  can  make  of  the  number  of  white 
communicants  and  ministers  in  the  Southern  churches. 


ON     SLAVEHOLDING.  393 

to  a  congenial  field,  is  seen  in  the  case  of  thousands 
of  impoverished  whites  in  the  slaveholding  States. 
This  class,  doomed  to  poverty,  and  often  to  degrada- 
tion, by  the  law  of  slavery,  rise  to  influence,  wealth, 
and  importance,  when  they  emigrate  to  new  States. 
A  similar  influence  will  bless  the  negro  race,  when  sepa- 
rated from  contaminating  influences,  and  disciplined 
to  bear  its  part  among  the  governments  of  the  world. 

In  Liberia,  new  communities  would  be  formed,  and 
settlements  established  in  different  parts  of  the  ex- 
tending republic,  to  meet  the  demands  of  emigration. 
"Assimilation  "  is  easier  under  circumstances  of  diffu- 
sion than  of  aggregation.  As,  in  our  own  country, 
the  facility  of  acquiring  land  in  the  new  Territories 
and  States,  promotes  the  welfare  of  the  emigrants, 
and  fixes  them  in  homes  comparatively  remote  from 
cities  and  overgrown  districts,  so  the  Liberian  scheme 
proposes  to  establish  its  large  accessions  of  emigrants 
in  independent  and  separate  communities,  increasing 
in  number  with  the  demand  for  enlargement. 

The  "  deep-rooted  distrust  of  the  capacity  of  their 
own  people  for  safely  conducting  the  affairs  of  govern- 
ment "  need  give  a  friend  of  colonization  no  concern 
whatever.  The  race  in  this  country  has  never  had 
the  opportunity  of  proving  its  capacity  to  take  charge 
of  public  interests.  The  only  experiment  hitherto 
made  has  been  successful.  The  government  of  Liberia 
is  administered  with  as  much  skill  as  that  of  most 


394  PRESBYTERIAN    VIEWS 

of  the  States  in  our  Union,  and  the  republic  is  grow- 
ing in  importance  among  the  nations  of  the  earth. 
The  Africans  will  learn  soon  enough  to  put  confidence 
in  Liberia,  and  to  prefer  their  own  administration  to 
that  of  any  other  people  in  America. 

Your  "  rule  of  three  "  will  hardly  work  in  reference 
to  the  developments  of  God's  providence.  "  If,  now, 
it  has  taken  thirty-four  years  to  place  a  colony  of  ten 
thousand  on  the  coast  of  Africa,  when  can  we  reason- 
ably calculate  that  our  work  will  be  done  "  with  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  ?  Verily,  by  the  Armstrong  rule, 
no  calculation  would  be  "  reasonable."  Virginia  her- 
self could  be  ciphered  out  of  her  present  civilization 
and  glory,  by  writing  down,  for  the  basis  of  the  prob- 
lem, the  original  Jamestown  efforts  at  colonization. 
The  "  rule  of  three,"  irrelevant  as  it  has  always  been, 
will  become  less  and  less  geometrical,  "  as  ye  see  the 
day  approaching."  How  will  it  work  when  "  nations 
are  born  in  a  day  ?  " 

It  must  be  admitted  that,  although  the  rule  is  un- 
fair in  such  a  discussion,  no  human  sagacity  can  scan 
the  problem  of  African  colonization.  It  is  certain, 
however,  that  many  of  our  wisest  men  regard  colo- 
nization as  the  most  hopeful  adjunct  to  emancipation. 
On  the  cmestion  of  time,  there  is  room  for  difference 
of  opinion ;  and  so  there  is,  indeed,  on  all  points. 
The  late  Dr.  Alexander,  than  whom  no  man  stood 
higher  in  Virginia  for  wisdom  and  far-reaching  views, 


ON    SLAVE  HOLDING.  395 

thus  sums  up  his  views  of  the  capacity  of  Liberia  to 
receive  the  coloured  race  of  America :  "  If  Liberia 
should  continue  to  flourish  and  increase,  it  is  not  so 
improbable,  as  many  suppose,  that  the  greater  part  of 
the  African  race,  now  in  this  country,  will,  in  the 
inscrutable  dispensations  of  Providence,  be  restored 
to  the  country  of  their  fathers."  Some  of  our  most 
distinguished  political  characters  have  expressed  the 
same  opinion.1 

There  are  various  providential  aspects,  which  en- 
courage large  expectations  from  Liberian  colonization, 
in  its  connection  with  the  removal  of  American  slavery, 
and  which  serve  to  show  that  an  emancipation  move- 
ment, of  some  kind,  cannot  be  far  off. 

III.  Besides  hoping  great  things,  and  attempting 
great  things,  we  should  "  look  with  holy  anxiety  at 
the  signs  of  the  times."  Providence  is  a  quickening 
instructor. 

1.  One  of  the  signs  of  the  times  is,  the  general  s  rt- 
timent  of  the  civilized  world  in  favour  of  measures  of 
emancipation.     Slavery  has   existed   in  the  United 

1  An  enlightened  advocate  of  colonization,  as  an  adjunct  to 
emancipation,  need  not  maintain  that  the  whole  African  race  in 
this  country  must  go  to  Liberia.  Many  of  them  will  probably 
remain  behind  in  this  country,  to  struggle  with  adversity,  and 
perhaps  at  last  to  die  away.  Dr.  Alexander's  language  goes  as 
far  as  is  necessary  to  meet  the  case.  "The  greater  part  of  the 
African  race  "  will  probably  be  restored  to  Africa. 


396  PRESBYTERIAN    VIEWS 

States  for  two  centuries,  during  which  period  it  has 
been  overruled,  in  many  ways,  for  great  good  to  the 
slaves.  But  can  it  long  survive  the  pressure  of  public 
sentiment  at  home  and  abroad  ?  When  all  Christian 
and  civilized  nations  are  opposed  to  its  continuance, 
must  it  not,  before  long,  adopt  some  active  measures 
tending  to  its  abolition? 

2.  Another  sign  of  the  times  is,  the  demonstration 
of  African  capability,  made  by  the  Republic  of  Liberia. 
The  light  of  this  Eepublic  spreads  far  into  the  future. 
It  illuminates  the  vista  of  distant  years,  and  cheers 
the  heart  of  philanthropy  with  the  sight  of  a  great 
and  rising  nation.  The  moral  power  of  the  successful 
enterprise  on  the  shores  of  Africa,  is  like  the  voice  of 
God  speaking  to  the  children  of  Israel  to  "go  for- 
ward." 

3.  The  exploration  of  Africa,  just  at  this  period  of 
her  history,  is  another  cheering  sign  for  colonization. 
Preparations  for  a  great  work  are  going  on  for  that 
dark  continent.  Whatever  develops  Africa's  re- 
sources, is  a  token  of  good  to  her  descendants  every- 
where. Elevate  the  continent,  and  the  race  is  free. 
These  explorations  will  serve,  in  part,  to  satisfy  the 
public  mind  in  reference  to  the  healthfulness  and  fer- 
tility of  the  country,  back  from  the  sea,  and  its  adapta- 
tion to  all  the  purposes  of  colonization. 

4.  Another  sign  of  approaching  crisis,  favourable  to 
some  important  results,  is  in  the  South  itself.     After 


ON     SLAVEHOLDING.  397 

a  long  period  of  repose,  it  presents  tokens  of  interna! 
divisions,  of  excitement,  and  of  extreme  measures. 
The  revival  of  the  African  slave-trade,  which  is  a 
popular  plan  in  six  States,  bids  defiance  to  God  and 
nations.  The  preparations,  commenced  in  Maryland 
and  elsewhere,  to  drive  out  the  free  blacks  or  reduce 
them  to  slavery ;  the  movement  to  prohibit  emanci- 
pation by  legislative  enactment ;  the  laws  against  the 
instruction  of  the  slaves;  all  the  recent  political  ad- 
vances of  slavery,  including  the  judicial  decision  deny- 
ing the  rights  of  citizenship  to  free  blacks,  and  carry- 
ing slavery  into  the  national  territories ;  and  especially 
the  lowering  of  the  tone  of  public  sentiment  on  the 
whole  subject  of  slavery  and  emancipation,  to  which 
even  ministers  have  contributed  :  all  this  has  the 
appearance  of  an  impending  crisis,  and  points  to  some 
great  result  in  Divine  Providence,  in  spite  of  all  the 
opposition  of  man ;  yea,  and  by  means  of  it ! 

5.  The  times  magnify  Colonization  as  an  instru- 
ment of  civilization.  Behold  the  new  States  on  the 
shores  of  the  Pacific,  and  the  rising  kingdoms  in  Aus- 
tralia. Behold  the  millions  who  have  peopled  our 
own  Western  States.  Colonization  has  never  before 
displayed  such  power,  or  won  triumphs  so  extensive 
and  rapid.  Nor  has  the  black  man  ever  attained 
such  dignity  as  by  emigrating  to  Africa.  Coloniza- 
tion is  one  of  the  selected  agencies  of  God  to  promote 
the  civilization  of  the  human  race. 
34 


308  PRESBYTERIAN     VIEWS 

6.  It  also  seems  clear  that  God  had  some  special 
purpose  of  grace  and  goodness  to  accomplish  with  the 
slave  race,  on  a  large  scale.  The  Africans  have  been 
torn  from  their  homes,  brought  to  a  land  of  liberty 
and  religion,  civilized  and  elevated  here,  to  a  good 
degree,  and  yet,  when  set  free  in  the  land,  disowned 
as  citizens,  and  subjected  to  a  social  and  political  con- 
dition, so  disparaging  as  to  preclude  the  hope  of  ful- 
filling their  mission  in  America,  Everything  points 
to  Africa  as  the  field  of  their  highest  cultivation  and 
usefulness. 

7.  The  concurring  providences  of  God  throughout 
the  earth  are  harbingers  of  the  times  of  renovation  and 
of  millennial  glory.  The  fulfilment  of  prophecy  is 
at  hand.  Progress  and  revolution  mark  the  age. 
The  end  is  not  distant,  when  "  He,  whose  right  it  is, 
shall  reign ; "  and  "  Ethiopia  shall  stretch  forth  her 
hands  unto  God." 

With  signs  like  these  flashing  across  the  heavens, 
it  is  no  time  for  the  watchers  of  the  African  sky  to 
sleep  at  their  observatories ;  much  less,  if  they  are 
awake,  is  it  a  time  to  doubt.  Providence  calls  upon 
the  friends  of  the  race  to  hope  great  things,  and  to 
attempt  great  things.  It  points  to  Liberian  Coloni- 
zation as  the  most  hopeful  scheme  ever  devised  for 
the  elevation  of  Africa's  degraded  children,  and  for 
their  emancipation  from  the  long  American  bondage. 
Work,  and  see  !     Trust,  and  try ! 


ON     SLAVEHOLDING.  391 

SECTION    XII. EFFECTS   OF    ENTERTAINING    THIS    EMAN- 
CIPATION   SCHEME. 

In  your  judgment,  the  discussion  of  emancipation 
is  calculated  to  "do  harm."  Why,  then,  did  my 
good  brother  introduce  the  question,  and  in  a  form 
that  seemed  to  demand  an  answer  ?  The  whole  dis- 
cussion is  evidently  foreign  from  the  original  issues 
between  us,  as  most  readers  readily  see. 

For  myself,  I  do  not  believe,  that  a  calm  and  Chris- 
tian discussion  of  this  vast  social  and  political  ques- 
tion will  do  any  injury  at  all.  It  needs  investigation. 
It  requires  it  before  God  and  man.  The  interests  of 
the  white  race  and  of  the  black  race,  the  welfare  of 
the  present  and  succeeding  generations,  conscience, 
political  economy,  safety,  the  public  opinion  of  the 
civilized  world,  religion,  Providence,  —  all  invite 
serious  attention  to  the  question  of  emancipation. 
And  why  should  a  rational  discussion  interfere  with 
"  the  religious  instruction  and  gradual  elevation  of 
the  African  race?"  Its  natural  effect,  one  would 
think,  would  be  to  stimulate  effort  in  this  very  direc- 
tion, at  least  with  Christian  and  sober-minded  people. 

The  Free  States  have,  unquestionably,  been  remiss 
in  their  duties  to  the  free  coloured  population.  I 
confess,  with  shame,  this  neglect  and  injustice. 
Human  nature  is  the  same  everywhere.  The  free 
blacks  have,  however,  many  privileges.     They  have 


400  PRESBYTERIAN    VIEWS 

access  to  public  schools ;  they  have  churches  in  abund- 
ance ;  and  if  they  could  enjoy  social  equality,  they 
would  long  ago  have  been  "  assimilated  "  in  our  com- 
munities. You  ask,  "Are  you  colonizing  them  in 
Africa?"  I  reply,  that  hitherto  they  have  refused 
to  go,  notwithstanding  the  most  earnest  and  perse- 
vering expostulations.  The  same  class  of  fanatics 
who  have  urged  immediate  and  universal  emancipa- 
tion at  the  South,  have  decried  colonization  at  the 
North,  and  successfully  resisted  its  claims  among  the 
free  people  of  colour.  There  are  evidences  that  a 
change  of  opinion  is  now  silently  making  progress 
among  them  in  favour  of  colonization.  May  God 
help  us  to  do  more  in  their  behalf,  and  to  roll  away 
the  reproach,  of  which  you  faithfully  remind  us,  and 
for  doing  which  I  give  you  my  thanks. 

SECTION    XIII.  —  THE   WORK    AND   THE    WAY. 

There  is  no  difference  of  opinion  between  us  about 
the  work  and  the  way,  although  I  believe  that  we 
ought  to  keep  the  end  in  view,  as  well  as  apply  the 
means.  Why  work  in  the  dark  ?  The  great  obliga- 
tion is  the  improvement  of  the  slaves,  their  intellec- 
tual and  moral  elevation.  The  slaves,  in  my  judg- 
ment, and,  I  suppose,  in  yours,  ought  to  be  taught 
the  rudiments  of  learning.  Our  missionaries  to  the 
heathen  place  Christian  schools  among  the  effective 
instrumentalities   of  promoting   religion    and  every 


ON     SLAYEHOLDING.  401 

good  result.  What  can  be  gained  by  keeping  the 
slaves  in  ignorance,  it  is  difficult  to  conjecture.  Ought 
not  the  Bible  to  be  placed  in  their  hands,  in  order 
that  they  may  "  search  the  Scriptures,"  and  possess 
the  opportunity  of  a  more  complete  improvement  of 
their  rational  powers  ?  A  committee,  in  their  report 
to  the  Synod  of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia,  in  1833, 
state  :  "  The  proportion  that  read  is  infinitely  small ; 
and  the  Bible,  so  far  as  they  can  read  it  for  them- 
selves, is,  to  all  intents,  a  sealed  book."  Since  1833, 
progress  may  have  been  made  in  the  instruction 
of  the  slaves  in  the  rudiments  of  knowledge.  And 
yet,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  several  of  the  States, 
including  Virginia,  have,  within  this  period,  passed 
stringent  laws  prohibiting  the  slaves  from  being  taught 
to  read,  it  is  difficult  to  ascertain  the  nature  and 
extent  of  this  progress,  if  indeed  there  be  any.  In 
some  States,  I  fear  there  has  been  an  interposition 
that  leads  to  retrogradation. 

You  are  right  in  saying  that  the  most  effectual  way 
of  promoting  emancipation  is  "through  the  agenc}' 
of  a  gradually  ameliorating  slavery,  the  amelioration 
taking  place  as  the  slaves  are  prepared  to  profit  by 
it."  What  strikes  a  stranger,  at  the  present  time,  is 
that  the  laws  have,  of  late  years,  become  more  harsh, 
especially  in  the  matter  of  instruction,  than  ever 
before.  An  "  ameliorating  slavery  "  would  naturally 
extend  the  educational  and  general  privileges  of  the 
34  *  2  a 


402  PRESBYTERIAN    VIEWS 

slaves.  Has  there  ever  been  any  public  legislative 
action  having  in  view  the  enlightenment  of  the 
slaves?  Might  not  Christian  citizens  accomplish 
much  more  in  ameliorating  the  code,  by  enlarging 
the  privileges  of  the  slaves  in  conformity  with  the 
recommendations  of  Mr.  Nott  ? 

The  remedial  suggestions  of  Mr.  Nott,  understood 
to  be  received  with  favour  by  a  number  of  gentlemen 
at  the  South,  are  of  much  value.  If  generally 
adopted,  the  work  of  amelioration  would  be  carried 
forward  with  an  increase  of  power  altogether  unknown 
in  the  annals  of  slave  civilization.  Among  his  ad- 
mirable suggestions,  which  are  generally  elaborated 
with  much  good  sense,  are  the  following :  "  There 
may  be  supposed  admissible  in  the  progress  of  ame- 
lioration, first,  some  extension  of  franchises  to  those 
remaining  slaves;  and  secondly,  an  opportunity  of 
full  emancipation  to  such  as  may  choose  it :  thus 
giving  to  all  some  share  in  providing  for  their  social 
well-being,  and  opening  the  path  for  individual  pro- 
gress and  advancement." 

An  ameliorating  system  is  the  only,  and  the  safest, 
way  to  emancipation ;  and  in  such  a  system,  religious 
and  moral  instruction  is  the  strongest  element.  The 
plan  of  emancipation  we  have  been  considering  could 
have  no  prospect  of  a  successful  issue,  unless,  in  the 
course  of  thirty  years,  a  great  advance  could  be  made, 
under  God,  in  the  intellectual  and  social  condition  of 


ON     SLAVEHOLDING.  408 

the  slaves.     The  intermediate  work  is  Christian  ele- 
vation ;  after  that,  emancipation. 

I  am  far  from  undervaluing  the  general  tendency 
of  Southern  civilization  towards  the  improvement  of 
the  slaves.  Great  credit  belongs  to  those  of  our  self- 
denying  brethren  who  have  made  special  efforts  in 
their  own  households  and  on  neighbouring  planta- 
tions. Let  this  work  go  on,  and  thousands  of  slaves 
will  be  prepared  for  freedom,  in  Liberia,  in  the  course 
of  another  generation.  This  is  the  work,  and  this  is 
the  way ! 

SECTION  XIV.  —  THE    CHURCH  AND  ADVISORY   TESTIMONY. 

After  this  long  digression,  of  your  own  seeking,  I 
return  to  the  original  topic  of  the  relation  of  the 
Church  to  emancipation.  The  Church  has  a  right  to 
enjoin  the  performance  of  all  the  relative  duties  spe- 
cified in  the  Scriptures,  and  to  give  general  counsel, 
or  testimony,  in  regard  to  the  termination  of  the  rela- 
tion itself,  as  a  moral  and  lawful  end. 

Why  a  right  to  give  counsel  ?  Because,  as  I  have 
attempted  to  show,  the  relation  being  abnormal  and 
exceptional,  its  ultimate  dissolution  is  fairly  inferred, 
as  a  moral  duty,  from  the  general  spirit  and  princi- 
ples of  the  word  of  God.  So  far  as  the  dissolution 
of  the  relation  requires  the  action  of  the  State,  the 
Chiirch  has  no  right  to  meddle  with  it  in  any  form, 
either  as  to  the  plan,  or  the  time.     The  Church  has 


404  PRESBYTERIAN    VIEWS 

simply  the  right  to  advise  and  urge  her  members  to 
prepare  their  slaves  for  freedom,  as  soon  as  Providence 
shall  open  the  way  for  it. 

Why  may  not  the  Church  enjoin  emancipation  ? 
Because  slaveholding  being  right  or  wrong,  according 
to  circumstances,  the  Church  can  neither  give  a  spe- 
cific rule  of  permanent  and  universal  obligation,  nor 
can  it  take  cognizance  of  the  circumstances  of  each 
particular  case,  which  must  be  adjudicated  by  the 
mind  and  conscience  of  each  individual,  under  his 
responsibility  to  Cod. 

The  Church,  therefore,  whilst  it  cannot  prescribe 
political  measures  of  emancipation,  or  the  time  of 
emancipation,  has  a  perfect  right  to  say  to  its  mem- 
bers, as  our  General  Assembly  did,  in  1818  : 

"  We  earnestly  exhort  them  to  continue,  and,  if  jjossible,  to 
increase  their  exertions  to  effect  a  total  abolition  of  slavery. 
We  exhort  them  to  suffer  no  greater  delay  to  take  place  in  this 
most  interesting  concern,  than  a  regard  to  the  public  welfare  truly 
and  indispensably  demands." 

"And  we,  at  the  same  time,  exhort  others  to  forbear  harsh 
censures,  and  uncharitable  reflections  on  their  brethren,  who 
unhappily  live  among  slaves,  whom  they  cannot  immediately  set 
free  ;  but  who  are  really  using  all  of  their  influence  and  all 
their  endeavours  to  bring  them  into  a  state  of  freedom,  as  soon 
as  a  door  for  it  can  be  safely  opened." 

Or,  as  the  Synod  of  Virginia  declared  in  1802  : 

"  We  consider  it  the  indispensable  duty  of  all  who  hold  slaves, 
to  prepare,  by  a  suitable  education,  the.  young  among  them  for 
a  state  of  freedom,  and  to  liberate  them  as  soon  as  they  shall 
appear  to  be  duly  qualified  for  that  high  privilege." 


ON     SLAVEHOLDING.  405 

In  thus  maintaining  the  right  of  the  Church  to 
give  advisory  testimony,  there  is  scarcely  need  to  add, 
that  the  Church  is  bound  to  proceed  with  the  wisdom 
which  should  ever  characterize  a  court  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ. 

SECTION   XV.  —  THE    THIRD    LETTER.       HISTORY   OF    ANTI- 
SLAVERY   OPINIONS. 

1.  I  do  not  conceive  that  my  third  letter  was 
based  upon  the  slightest  misapprehension.  The  whole 
strain  of  Bishop  Hopkins's  apology  for  slavery  implies, 
like  your  own,  that  the  institution  may  lawfully  exist 
among  a  people,  forever,  without  any  concern.  This 
I  do  not  believe  5  and  this  the  Christian  Church  has 
not  believed,  either  in  earlier  or  later  times.  I  pro- 
test against  such  doctrine,  in  however  guarded  lan- 
guage it  may  be  expressed  or  concealed. 

In  the  time  of  Chrysostom,  who  nourished  after 
Constantine,  about  A.  D.  400,  emancipation  was  en- 
couraged throughout  the  Empire ;  more  so  than  my 
brother  Armstrong  seems  to  encourage  it  now,  in 
the  interval  of  fourteen  centuries.  There  is  no  rea- 
son to  infer  from  Chrysostom's  fanciful  interpretation 
of  1  Cor.  7  :  21,  that  he  was  an  advocate  of  the  per- 
petuity of  slavery.  In  some  respects,  that  distant 
age  was  in  advance  of  our  own. 

2.  You  think  that  in  two  instances  I  confound 
things  that  differ.     (1.)   But  I  did  not  understand 


406  PRESBYTERIAN    VIEWS 

you  as  saying  that  the  Christian  anti-slavery  philan- 
thropists of  England  were  infidels,  but  simply  that 
they  acted  quoad  hoc  on  infidel  principles.  I  proved 
that  their  principles  were  not  those  of  infidelity ; 
that  such  an  idea  was  preposterous.1  (2.)  Nor  did 
I  confound  slaveholding  with  the  African  slave-trade. 
The  paragraphs  from  Mr.  Bancroft's  history  embraced 
both  subjects,  so  that  one  could  not  be  well  separated 
from  the  other.  Besides,  the  traffic  and  the  system 
sustain  a  close  relation  to  each  other.  The  abettor* 
of  perpetual  slavery  are  always  prone  to  defend  the 
slave-trade,  as  is  lamentably  witnessed  at  the  pre- 
sent time,  in  the  extreme  South. 

SECTION    XVI.  —  CONCLUDING   REMARKS. 

On  reviewing  our  respective  positions  on  this  inter- 
esting question,  I  am  confirmed  in  the  correctness  of 
those  with  which  I  set  out,  viz. :  that  "  slaveholding 
is  right  or  wrong,  according  to  circumstances ;"  that 
the  General  Assembly  had  a  right  to  exhort  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Church  to  prepare  their  slaves  for  free- 
dom whenever  Providence  should  open  the  door  for  it ; 
that  the  history  of  anti-slavery  opinions  shows  that 
the  Church  has  never  regarded  slavery  as  an  institu- 

1  Hobbes,  one  of  the  leaders  of  infidelity,  maintained  that 
every  man  being  by  nature  at  war  with  every  man,  the  one  has 
a  perpetual  right  to  reduce  the  other  to  servitude,  when  he  can 
accomplish  the  end. 


ON    SLAVEHOLDING.  407 

tion  to  be  perpetuated ;  that  it  is  wise  for  us,  as  citi- 
zens, to  examine  the  question  of  emancipation  in  all 
its  bearings;  and  that  the  border  States,  if  no  others, 
might  advantageously  commence  the  work  speedily, 
on  the  plan  of  a  prospective  scheme,  with  Liberian 
colonization  as  its  adjunct. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  I  do  not  misunderstand  you, 
you  have  taken  the  following  positions :  1.  "  Slave- 
holding  is  not  a  sin  in  the  sight  of  God."  2.  The 
Church  has  no  right  even  to  advise  her  members  to 
elevate  their  slaves  with  a  view  to  their  freedom,  and 
that  the  testimonies  of  the  General  Assembly,  down 
to  1845,  were  wrong,  and  ought  never  to  have  been 
uttered.  3.  Slaveholding  has  always  existed  in  the 
Church  without  any  reproach,  from  the  earliest  times, 
until  Christian  philanthropy,  adopting  the  principles 
of  Infidelity,  has  lately  agitated  the  matter.  4.  It 
is  expedient  to  do  nothing  in  the  way  of  emancipa- 
tion at  present,  if,  indeed,  the  slaves  are  ever  to  be 
free ;  and  the  South  had  better  not  send  any  more 
slaves  to  Liberia  until  the  North  has  sent  its  free 
blacks. 

By  the  expression  of  these  sentiments,  I  fear  that. 
without  intending  it,  you  have  lowered  the  tone  of 
public  sentiment  wherever  your  influence  extends, 
and  have  impaired  the  obligations  of  conscientious 
Christians  on  this  great  subject.  John  Randolph 
declared  in  Congress  :  "  Sir,  I  envy  not  the  heart  nor 


408  PRESBYTERIAN    VIEWS 

the  head  of  that  man  from  the  North,  who  rises  here 
to  defend  slavery  from  principle."  This  remark  has 
no  direct  application,  of  course,  to  yourself;  but  many 
readers,  I  fear,  will  claim,  in  your  behalf,  the  credit 
of  doing  the  very  thing  that  John  Randolph  de- 
nounced. 

I  agree  with  you  about  the  evils  of  the  course  of 
the  fanatical  abolitionists ;  and  not  any  more  than 
yourself  do  I  desire  to  unite  my  honour  with  their 
assembly.1 

I  stand  upon  the  good  old  ground,  occupied  by  the 
Presbyterian  Church  from  time  immemorial.  Be- 
lieving it  to  be  scriptural  ground,  I  have  endeavoured 
to  defend  it ;  and  shall,  by  God's  grace,  continue  to 
defend  it  on  all  fit  occasions,  against  extreme  views 
either  at  the  North  or  at  the  South.  I  further  be- 
lieve that  my  beloved  brethren  at  the  South  occupy, 
in  the  main,  the  same  conservative  position,  —  a  po- 
sition which  has  enabled  our  Church  to  maintain  her 
scriptural  character  and  her  integrity.     I  do  not  ex- 

1  Notwithstanding  Dr.  Armstrong's  strong  condemnation  of 
the  abolitionists,  he  practically,  but  unintentionally,  adopts  two 
of  their  leading  principles.  1.  He  discourages,  at  least  for  a 
long  period,  the  emancipation  of  slaves,  with  a  view  of  sending 
them  to  Liberia.  So  far  as  this  generation  is  concerned,  Dr. 
Armstrong  and  the  abolitionists  are,  on  this  point,  at  unity.— 
2.  He  maintains  that  Africa  ought  not  to  be  regarded  as  the 
country  and  home  of  the  coloured  race  ;  but  that  America  is  as 
much  their  home  as  it  is  his  or  mine.  This  is  a  favourite  and 
fundamental  principle  of  the  abolitionists,  from  which  they  argue 
('mancipation  upon  the  soil. 


ON     SLAVEHOLDING.  409 

pect  that  my  brethren,  either  at  the  North  or  South, 
will  agree  with  me  in  all  the  side  issues  about  plans 
of  emancipation,  which  you  have  thrown  into  the 
argument  without  any  logical  authority,  and  to  which 
I  have  replied  according  to  the  best  light  given  me. 

Praying  for  spiritual  blessings  upon  Africa  and  her 
descendants,  and  that  the  cause  of  truth,  liberty,  and 
righteousness  may  prevail  from  shore  to  shore, 
I  am  yours,  fraternally, 

C.  Van  Rensselaer. 


NOTE.     DR.  BAXTER    OX    SLAYERY. 

Since  writing  the  foregoing  Article,  a  friend  has  forwarded  to 
the  Presbyterian  Historical  Society,  Dr.  Baxter's  pamphlet  <>u 
Slavery.  I  have  read,  with  great  interest  and  satisfaction,  this 
remarkable  production  of  my  revered  theological  instructor,  ft 
breathes  the  spirit  of  his  great  soul. 

1.  The  principles  of  Dr.  Baxter's  pamphlet  are  not  at  all  in- 
consistent with  the  Assembly's  testimony  of  1818,  which  he  had 
a  share  in  preparing  and  adopting.  The  general  views  are  coin- 
cident with  those  of  that  immortal  document,  with  such  differ- 
ence only  as  was  naturally  to  be  expected  in  looking  at  the  sub- 
ject from  a  different  stand-point. 

2.  In  the  statement  of  the  doctrine  of  slavery,  Dr.  Baxter 
fully  agrees  with  me,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  following  quotations 
from  his  pamphlet : 

"  The  relation  of  the  master  is  lawful,  as  long  as  the  circum- 
stances of  the  case  make  slavery  necessary."  p.  5. 

"There  is  no  consistent  ground  of  opposing  abolition,  without 
asserting  that  the  relation  of  master  is  right  or  wrong  according 
to  circumstances,  and  that  the  examination  of  our  circumstances 
is  necessary  to  ascertain  whether  or  not  it  be  consistent  with  our 
duty."  pp.  9,  10. 

35 


410  VIEWS    ON     SLAVE  II  0  LDI  NG. 

•' It  therefore  appears  plain,  that  the  Apostle  determines  the 
relation  of  master  to  be  a  lawful  relation.  [Here  Dr.  Arm- 
strong would  have  stopped,  but  Dr.  Baxter  adds.]  I  only  mean 
that  slavery  is  lawful,  whilst  necessary ;  or  that  it  is  lawful  to 
hold  slaves,  whilst  this  is  the  best  thing  that  can  be  done  for 
them."  p.  15. 

"  I  believe  that  the  true  ground  of  Scripture,  and  of  sound 
philosophy,  as  to  this  subject,  is,  that  slavery  is  lawful  in  the  sight 
of  Heaven,  whilst  the  character  of  the  slave  makes  it  neces- 
sary." p.  23. 

Dr.  Armstrong  will  see  that  my  doctrine  of  circumstances,  and 
nothing  else,  was  in  the  mind  of  Dr.  Baxter.  This  was  the  As- 
sembly's doctrine  of  1818.  Dr.  Baxter  was  no  wiser  in  1836, 
"  eighteen  years  afterwards,"  because  he  was  scripturally  wise  in 
1818.  I  have  a  firmer  persuasion  than  ever,  that  the  great  mass 
of  my  brethren  at  the  South  agree  with  Dr.  Baxter,  and  not  with 
Dr.  Armstrong. 

3.  Dr.  Baxter  does  not  hesitate  to  speak  out,  like  a  man  and 
a  Christian,  against  the  idea  of  the  perpetuity  of  slavery. 

"  For  my  part,  I  do  not  believe  that  the  system  of  slavery  will 
or  can  be  perpetual  in  this  country.''  p.  16. 

"  Christianity  in  its  future  progress  through  the  world,  'with 
greater  power  than  has  heretofore  been  witnessed,  I  have  no 
doubt  will  banish  slavery  from  the  face  of  the  whole  earth.''  p.  IT. 

"  The  application  of  Christian  principles  to  both  master  and 
servant,  will  hasten  the  day  of  general  emancipation."  p.  23. 

Dr.  Baxter  uses  no  ifs,  like  a  man  afraid  of  his  shadow,  but 
boldly  declares  the  common  conviction  of  the  Christian,  and  even 
political,  world  in  regard  to  the  desirableness  and  certainty  of 
ultimate  emancipation. 

4.  Dr.  Baxter's  pamphlet  is  specially  directed  against  the  abo- 
lition doctrine  of  immediate  emancipation  ;  and  his  object  is  to 
show  that  slavery  can  only  be  abolished  by  preparing  the  slaves 
for  freedom  under  the  influences  of  Christianity.  I  find  nothing 
in  the  pamphlet  on  the  question  of  Church  testimony.  There  is 
no  doubt,  in  my  own  mind,  that  he  adhered  to  his  views  of  1818, 
on  this,  as  on  other  points.  God  bless  his  memory  and  example  ! 
"Being  dead,  he  yet  speaketh." 


THE 


AMERICAN    BIBLE    SOCIETY: 


ITS    ATTEMPT    AT    REVISION 


(411 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS 


THE    AMERICAN    BIBLE    SOCIETY 
ITS  ATTEMPT  AT  REVISION. 


I.   On  the  New  Emendations,  in  reply  to  Rev.  T.  E.  Vir- 

milye,  D.  D.,  of  New  York PAGE  413 

II.   On  the  same  Subject. 431 

III.  Protest  of  the  Committee  of  Revision,  and  an  Answer 

to  it 451 

IV.  Origin  of  the  American  Bible  Society 461 

(412) 


ARTICLE   I. 

REPLY    TO    DR.VIRMILYE.1 

My  dear  Sir  ;  — Your  letter  furnishes  a  good  occa- 
sion for  a  statement  on  the  other  side  of  the  Bible 
question,  including  a  notice  of  your  severe  animad- 
versions upon  the  Church  to  which  I  belong. 

As  one  of  the  Committee  of  Revision,  whose  acts 
have  been  called  in  question  by  a  large  part  of  the 
Christian  community,  kindness  to  your  brethren  in 
this  discussion  would  seem  to  have  been  eminently 
wise  and  proper.  Instead  of  pursuing  this  concili- 
atory course,  you  have  inadvertently  allowed  your- 
self to  bring  severe  accusations,  in  unguarded  words, 
and  apparently  in  not  the  most  amiable  mood.  The 
Old  School  Presbyterian  Church  is  represented  as 
acting  in  a  spirit  of  sectarian  jealousy  and  illiberality, 
whilst  two  of  the  greatest  men  whom  God  has  raised 
up  in  her  ranks,  are  stigmatized  as  opposing  the  Bible 
Society's  movement  from  unworthy  personal  and  pro- 
fessional motives.  You  need  scarcely,  my  dear  sir, 
have  said  that  your  letter  was  on  your  "  own  respon- 

1  Originally  published  in  "  The  Presbyterian  "  of  October 
24th,  1857. 

35*  (413) 


414  AMERICAN    BIBLE    SOCIETY: 

sibility."  The  public  generally  condemn  its  tone ; 
the  Bible  Society  itself  would  be  the  first  to  repudiate 
it,  if  put  to  the  test;  and  it  is  not  improbable  that. 
in  the  calmer  moments  which  have  followed  your 
transient  excitement,  your  own  conscience,  true  to 
its  old  habits  of  love  and  right,  has  united  in  the 
common  expression  of  disapprobation  and  sorrow. 

Had  not  the  Presbyterian  Church  a  right  to  dis- 
cuss so  important  a  subject  as  the  publication  of  the 
Scriptures  ?  Was  it  not  very  likely,  that  a  Church 
that  has  always  been  known  as  an  unflinching  cham- 
pion of  the  truth,  from  the  days  of  Knox  and  Mel- 
ville through  every  period  of  its  history,  would  take 
an  interest  in  preserving  the  standard  edition  of  the 
Bible  unharmed  from  innovation  ?  Surely,  if  any 
part  of  the  sacramental  host  could  have  been  reck- 
oned, in  advance,  the  opposers  of  novelties  in  the 
printing  of  the  sacred  oracles,  and  the  advocates,  by 
principle  and  practice,  of  the  Bible,  as  it  is,  and  has 
been,  Old  School  Presbyterians  would  have  been  se- 
lected among  the  most  earnest,  steadfast,  and  uncom- 
promising, both  to  do  and  to  suifer.  Why,  then,  my 
dear  friend,  need  you  have  gone  out  of  the  way  to 
impute  uncharitable  and  ungenerous  motives  to  lofty- 
minded  and  pure  men  in  our  Church,  and  indeed  to 
our  Church  at  large  ? 

All  denominations  have  a  right  to  speak,  and  ought 
to  speak,  at  a  time  like  this.     Presbyterians,  espe- 


ITS    ATTEMPT    AT    REVISION.  415 

cially,  ought  not  to  be  rebuked  for  boldly  uttering 
their  thoughts.  They  had  a  prominent  agency  in 
establishing  the  American  Bible  Society;  they  have 
contributed  a  very  large  part  of  its  funds,  and  have 
always  taken  a  zealous  and  efficient  interest  in  its 
management.  Our  General  Assembly  was  bound  by 
its  hereditary  conservatism,  its  influential  position. 
its  interest  in  the  affairs  of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom, 
and  its  original  rights  in  the  Bible  Society,  to  inter- 
pose its  testimony  against  an  ill-concocted,  though 
well-meant  scheme  of  Bible  emendation.  That  tes- 
timony would  have  been  fully  expressed,  instead  of 
implied,  at  the  last  meeting  of  our  Supreme  Judica- 
tor}^,  if  it  had  not  been  thought  advisable  to  afford 
to  the  managers  of  the  national  institution  the  oppor- 
tunity of  retracing  their  steps,  according  to  the  strong 
intimations  of  one  of  the  Secretaries,  in  his  public 
address  before  our  body.  Judge  Fine's  wise  and  non- 
committal motion  of  postponement,  and  the  considc 
rate  and  kind  speech  of  the  venerable  Dr.  Hoge,  alone 
prevented  the  passage  of  Dr.  Breckinridge's  search- 
ing resolutions,  or,  at  least,  of  some  overture  con- 
demnatory of  the  proposed  variations.  You  state. 
with  a  principal  allusion  to  the  Presbyterian  Church  . 
"  I  expect  a  strong  response,  when  I  say,  From  all 
High-churchism  and  sectarian  ambition,  from  all  geo- 
graphical brotherhood  and  dictatorial  affection,  good 
Lord  deliver  us."     It  will  be  generally  thought  more 


416  AMERICAN    BIBLE     SOCIETY: 

desirable  to  exhibit  the  spirit  of  the  Litany  as  it  is, 
than  to  add  new  words  of  prayer,  incongruous  with 
the  pious  petitions  of  that  Scriptural  formulary.  I 
submit  to  your  consideration  whether  it  would  not  be 
wise  to  moderate,  if  not  altogether  change,  the  tone 
of  your  utterance,  the  next  time  you  undertake  to 
arraign  our  Church  before  the  public.  The  effect,  I 
do  not  say  the  design,  of  your  communication,  has 
been  to  excite  a  denominational  suspicion  against  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  in  her  honest  opposition  to  the 
recent  Bible  policy.  It  is  hoped  that  the  Committee 
on  Versions  will  hold  fast  to  the  Word  of  God  in  the 
oldness  of  the  letter  and  the  newness  of  the  spirit. 

The  two  great  principles  to  which  the  American 
Bible  Society  ought  to  be  made  to  adhere,  are — :First, 
that  it  shall  not  change  the  words,  or  alter  the  mean- 
ing of  the  existing  text  of  the  Bible,  in  part  or  in 
whole ;  and  secondly,  that  it  shall  not  publish  notes 
or  comments  on  the  text,  in  any  form  whatever. 

I.  My  first  propositon  is  that  the  American  Bible 
Society  ought  not  to  change  the  words,  or  alter  the 
meaning,  either  in  part  or  in  whole,  of  the  commonly 
received  version.  The  first  article  of  the  constitu- 
tion is : 

"  The  Society  shall  be  known  by  the  name  of  the  American 
Bible  Society,  of  which  the  sole  object  shall  be  to  encourage  a 
wider  circulation  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  without  note  or  com- 
ment. The  only  copies  in  the  English  language  to  be  circulated 
by  the  Society  shall  be  the  version  now  in  common  use.v 


ITS     ATTEMPT     AT     REVISION.  -ill 

Does  the  new  edition  vary,  to  any  extent,  in  lan- 
guage and  in  meaning,  from  the  version  now  "  in  com- 
mon use  ?"  The  question  is  neither  whether  the  vari- 
ations are/< w  in  number,  nor  whether  they  are  improve- 
ments. They  may  be  both ;  but  be  they  more  or  less, 
one  or  a  hundred,  and  of  whatever  character,  they 
are  unlawful,  if  found  to  exist.  A  single  violation 
of  the  text  corrupts  the  fundamental  principle  of 
keeping  intact  the  commonly  received  version.  How 
many  words  are  really  altered  (I  do  not  refer  to  mere 
changes  in  spelling,  but  to  the  substitution  of  differ- 
ent words) ,  cannot  be  fully  ascertained  from  the  Com- 
mittee's report.  That  report  only  gives  "specimens" 
of  alterations,  and  it  omits  one  which  you  adduce,  viz. : 
the  article  between  the  words  John  and  Baptist, — 
Assuming  that  there  are  only  two  changes  in  words 
(there  are  at  least  four),  I  maintain  that  the  Consti- 
tution prohibits  the  Society  from  making  even  one 
change.  Where  does  the  Society  obtain  the  right  to 
touch  the  version  in  the  minutest  word  ? 

There  are  other  modes,  however,  of  altering  the 
meaning  of  the  version  besides  changing  its  words. 
"  Specimens  "  of  variation  in  the  use  of  capital  letters, 
as  in  the  word  Spirit,  are  given,  wherein  the  Commit- 
tee have  decided  by  the  use  of  capitals  or  otherwise, 
in  four  places,  and  in  how  many  others  they  do  not 
state,  whether  the  word  refers  to  the  Holy  Spirit  or 

not,  p.  24. 

2b 


41 8  AMERICAN     BIBLE     SOCIETY: 

Pivnctuation  is  another  means  of  introducing  vari- 
ations in  the  existing  version,  without  requisite  au- 
thority. Four  "  specimens  "  of  unauthorized  tamper- 
ing with  the  text  by  means  of  commas,  colons,  and 
periods,  are  presented  in  the  Eeport  of  the  Commit- 
tee, two  of  which  make  an  important  difference  in 
the  meaning,  viz. :  Rom.  4  :  1,  and  Rev.  13  :  8,  the 
first  of  which  is  admitted  to  be  "  found  in  no  edition 
hitherto,"  and  in  regard  to  the  second,  it  is  stated 
that  "the  translators  wrongly  inserted  the  comma 
after  '  Lamb,'  "  p.  25. 

Parentheses  have  been  omitted  and  retained  at  dis- 
cretion, although  the  Committee  admit  that  "  in  some 
instances  they  have  the  force  of  commentaries." 

Brackets  have  necessarily  force  in  the  version  of  the 
Bible,  and  in  one  important  instance,  1  John  2  :  23. 
the  Committee  have  omitted  them  without  the  autho- 
rity of  any  preceding  editions. 

Here  are  at  least  eleven  variations  relating  to  the 
text,  found  among  the  "  specimens "  given  by  the 
Committee,  without  taking  into  the  account  those  not 
brought  to  view. 

The  question,  however,  as  I  have  stated,  is  not  one 
of  many  or  few,  of  improvement  or  otherwise.  It  is 
a  question  of  fundamental  principle.  If  the  Bible 
Society  has  a  right  to  change  the  existing  text  in 
1851,  in  one,  two,  or  a  dozen,  or  more  instances,  has 
has  it  not  the  right  to  make  more  numerous  changes 


ITS    ATTEMPT    AT    REVISION.  419 

of  the  same  nature  in  1857,  and  at  any  time  there- 
after? 

It  is  remarkable  how  the  Committee  unconsciously 
exceeded  their  powers.  They  were  authorized  by 
the  Board  to  have  the  necessary  collation  made,  p.  1G  > 
and  the  Committee  themselves  merely  employed  a 
person  "to  collate  the  principal  editions  of  the  English 
Bible,  published  by  this  Society,  with  the  latest  Bri- 
tish editions,"  which  was  afterwards  modified  by  a 
rule  so  as  to  include  "the  original  edition  of  1611." 
And  yet  it  turns  out  that,  besides  being  the  result  of 
a  "  collation  "  of  existing  translations,  this  standard 
edition  contains  original  variations  introduced  from 
the  Hebrew  and  Greek.  Thus  "  these  instances  have, 
of  course,  been  corrected  according  to  the  Hehrw" 
p.  20.  "  This  is  required  by  the  Greek"  p.  20.  "  So 
the  Greek"  p.  21.  "Not  in  the  Hebrew;'  p.  24.— 
"  Nothing  corresponding  in  the  Greek"  p.  24.  "  Here, 
according  to  the  order  of  the  Greek,  it  should  read," 
etc.,  p.  25.  "So  the  Syriac  and  Latin  versions," 
although  "  all  the  copies  "  of  the  English  Bible  have 
it  otherwise,  p.  25.  "The  clause  is  now  inserted  in 
all  critical  editions  of  the  Greek  Testament,"  p.  26. 
All  this  may  show  very  good  scholarship,  which  is 
not  called  in  question,  but  where  is  the  authority 
from  the  Constitution  of  the  American  Bible  Society 
to  go  behind  the  translation,  and  to  appeal  to  the  ori- 


420  AMERICAN     BIBLE     SOCIETY: 

ginal  Hebrew  and  Greek,  and  even  to  the  Syriac  and 
Latin  versions  ?     Is  this  "  collation  "  ? 

The  churches  must  guard  with  jealous  care  the 
version  as  it  is  —  the  version  as  it  was  in  1S1G  —  the 
old  English  version  of  the  Word  of  God,  of  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  years'  standing.  Let  there  be  minor 
changes  of  spelling,  and  a  correction  of  errors,  if 
need  be;  but  Jet  the  old  version  l,<  untouched,  both  in 
words  and  in  m>  aning.  The  churches  cannot  give  up 
this  principle  without  tolerating  a  violation  of  the 
Constitution  of  the  American  Bible  Society,  and 
abandoning  one  of  the  great  principles  of  the  Chris- 
tian co-partnership  in  the  dissemination  of  the  Scrip- 
tures. 

II.  Another  fundamental  principle  is,  that  the 
American  Bible  Society  shall  not  be  allowed  to  make 
notes  or  comment*  on  the  sacred  text.  The  Constitu- 
tion says,  "  without  note  or  comment."  The  two 
questions  that  arise  are,  what  constitutes  a  note 
and  comment;  and  if  the  old  headings  are  of  the 
nature  of  comments,  why  publish  any?  The  con- 
tents of  the  chapters,  the  running  heads,  and  the 
marginal  readings  and  references,  were  unquestion- 
ably designed  to  assist  the  .  reader  in  obtaining  a  cor- 
rect view  of  the  text ;  and  they  do  in  fact,  to  a  degree 
varying  according  to  circumstances,  perform  that 
office.  Although  probably  not  much  consulted,  these 
headings  give  interpretations  to  the  text.     If  so,  it 


ITS     ATTEMPT     AT     REVISION.  421 

may  be  asked,  why  not  exclude  theni  altogether  from 
the  existing  version?  Simply  because  they  were 
accepted  by  common  consent  as  part  of  the  version 
in  common  use  in  1816.  Action  under  the  Constitu- 
tion for  a  long  series  of  years  has  settled  the  point  a^ 
to  the  retention  of  the  old  headings.  But  it  is  obvi- 
ously a  very  different  question,  whether  the  Society 
has  a  right  to  alter  these  old  landmarks,  which  arc 
now  the  hereditary  accompaniments  of  the  version.  1 
maintain  that  they  have  no  more  right  to  do  this. 
than  they  have  to  alter  the  text,  It  is  nothing  to 
the  purpose  to  say,  that  "in  the  lapse  of  time  exten- 
sive changes  and  additions  have  been  made."  This 
is.  no  doubt,  true.  But  the  point  is,  what  right  has 
the  American  Bible  Society  to  make  any  changes  of 
this  nature,  that  are  not  found  in  the  standard  edi- 
tion of  1816  ?  And  yet,  the  Committee  have  here 
made  the  most  extensive  and  radical  changes,  sweep- 
ing away  large  masses  of  the  headings  which  existed 
in  1816,  and  substituting  other  words  of  their  own 
selection,  as  more  pertinent.  Who  had  a  right  to  set 
in  motion  this  reformation,  if,  indeed,  it  be  a  reforma- 
tion ? 

Let  it  be  noted  that  the  Committee  themselves 
acknowledge,  that  many  of  these  old  headings  are  of 
the  nature  of  comment.  They  say,  "A  special  ex- 
ample of  commentary  is  found  in  the  contents  of  all 
the  chapters  in  the  Book  of  Solomon,"  p:  28.  But 
36 


422  AMERICAN     BIBLE    SOCIETY: 

not  more  special  are  these  than  many  of  the  new 
commentaries  of  the  Committee  in  various  parts  of 
their  standard  edition.  The  Committee,  besides  mak- 
ing indefinite  substitutions  of  their  own  for  these  ori- 
ginal headings,  have  taken  the  liberty  of  adding 
several  marginal  notes,  and  of  omitting  a  number  of 
marginal  references.  The  references  which  they  have 
omitted,  have  been  only  "those,  which  on  actual 
examination,  proved  to  be  of  little,  or  no  import- 
ance," p.  30.  But  there  is  great  room  for  difference 
of  opinion  as  to  the  relative  importance  of  texts  of 
Scripture,  in  elucidating  other  parts  of  Scripture. 
Scotland  was  recently  thrown  into  commotion  by  a 
new  edition  of  the  Bible,  which  insidiously  left  out 
many  of  the  old  references,  and  put  in  new  ones. 
This  was  done  on  the  responsibility  of  a  private 
printing-house,  which  had  no  right  to  assume  it ;  and 
who  gave  to  the  American  Bible  Society  the  right  to 
disturb  the  old  references,  or  any  of  the  accessories 
at  all  ? 

It  is  remarkable  how  the  Committee  exceeded  their 
original  powers  in  going  to  work  at  these  accessories 
to  the  text,  just  as  they  did  in  regard  to  the  text 
itself.  I  am  far  from  charging  the  Committee  with 
transcending  their  powers  from  any  wrong  motives. 
By  no  means.  Like  all  men,  who  attempt  to  reform 
on  too  large  a  scale,  they  were  doubtless  unconsciously 
led  along  by  the  very  abundance  of  their  zeal.     But 


ITS    ATTEMPT    AT     REVISION.  423 

the  authority  to  "  collate  "  the  old  edition  with  other 
translations,  did  not  imply  authority  to  make  sweep- 
ing alterations  in  the  old-fashioned  accessories,  etc., 
at  their  discretion.  Let  the  reader  turn  to  the  third 
rule,  adopted  to  guide  the  collation  (?),  and  he  will 
find  it  as  follows  : 

"  3.  That  the  comparison  includes  the  Orthography,  Capital 
Letters,  Words  in  Italic,  and  Punctuation.  (To  these  were  added 
in  practice  the  contents  of  the  chapters,  and  the  running  heads 
of  the  columns.'')  —  p.  16.) 

Added  in  practice  ?  Does  this  mean  that  the  prac- 
tice was  more  extensive  than  the  rule?  The  rule 
itself  is  a  proper  one,  and  had  in  view  very  proper 
topics  of  inquiry ;  but  the  practice  under  it,  by  in- 
eluding  what  was  not  originally  intended,  and  what 
belonged  to  an  entirely  different  category,  took  the 
largest  liberty  with  rule  and  regulation.  Moreover. 
let  the  reader  observe  that  the  rule  contemplated  a 
comparison  with  other  translations,  and,  not  even  im- 
pliedly, alterations  like  the  radical  ones  so  extensively 
put  forth. 

The  founders  of  the  American  Bible  Society  un- 
doubtedly meant  by  "note  and  comment,"  such 
explanations  and  interpretations  as  accompany  the 
Tract  Society's  new  edition ;  and  by  "  the  version 
now  in  common  use,"  they  intended  both  the  text 
and  the  accessories,  as  they  then  were.  Their  aim 
was  simply  to  exclude  commentaries  in  the  enlarged 


424  AMERICAN     BIBLE     SOCIETY: 

acceptation  of  that  term.  The  Committee  had  no 
right  to  touch  the  accessories  of  the  text,  except  for 
the  simple  purpose  of  "collating"  them  with  other 
editions  to  rectify  errors. 

These  two  principles,  which  I  have  been  attempt- 
ing to  illustrate,  will  commend  themselves,  it  is  be- 
lieved, to  many  sound  and  reflecting  minds  among  all 
denominations  of  Christians.  The  American  Bible 
Society  must  not  change  the  words  of  the  text  of  the 
Bible,  or  alter  in  any  way,  to  the  least  degree,  its 
meaning;  and  it  must  not  add  a  word  of  "note  or 
comment "  upon  the  text  itself. 

If  these  views  are  correct,  they  show  what  course 
should  be  pursued  by  the  American  Bible  Society,  in 
its  present  exigency.  Let  the  Society  return  to  the 
old  version  and  its  accessories,  with  those  unimportant 
exceptions  which  a  "  collation  "  with  other  editions. 
or  the  progress  of  the  language,  authorizes.  Let  the 
Bible  be  restored  to  its  old  position  in  all  essential 
particulars ;  and  forever  hereafter  "  let  well  enough 
alone."  For  one,  I  should  prefer  to  have  the  Bible 
restored  to  the  exact  form  in  which  it  was  in  1848. 

The  following  additional,  or  "  accessory,"  reasons 
why  the  American  Bible  Society  should  retrace  its 
steps  in  this  unfortunate  movement,  are  offered  to 
your  candid  consideration. 

1.  Many  good  Christians  in  the  community  have 
had  their  consciences  offended  by  the  changes  intro- 


ITS     ATTEMPT     AT     REVISION.  425 

duced  into  the  new  edition.  Granting  that  their  eon- 
sciences  are  weak,  that  the  principles  involved  are 
not  so  weighty  as  they  are  supposed  to  be,  and  that 
you  and  others  are  certainly  right  in  their  views  of 
the  matter,  still,  does  not  the  Bible  itself  inculcate 
the  spirit  of  forbearance,  and  even  of  respect  and 
deference,  to  the  convictions  of  brethren  who  act 
upon  principle  ?  It  is  also  worth}*  of  your  notice 
that  many  plain  Christians  have  had  their  confidence 
in  the  American  version  of  the  Bible  weakened  by 
these  numerous  changes,  the  minor  ones  alone  being 
reported  at  about  "  twenty-four  thousand "  in  num- 
ber, p.  31.  This  whole  subject  has  necessarily  prac- 
tical bearings,  more  or  less  connected  with  religions 
faith  and  experience.  Many  a  true  believer,  in  the 
midst  of  the  discussions  and  facts  recently  presented 
to  the  community,  will  take  up  his  Bible  with  doubts 
as  to  whether  this  new  version  is  really  the  same 
Bible  he  has  been  accustomed  to  read.  It  is,  surely, 
no  small  thing  to  impair  the  confidence  of  the  people 
of  God  in  the  sacred  Book,  whence  they  are  accus- 
tomed to  derive  spiritual  nourishment  and  consolation. 
2.  The  new  edition  makes  the  Society  liable  to 
prosecution  in  the  civil  courts  for  violating  its  Con- 
stitution. I  do  not  affirm  that  any  person  will  put 
the  question  to  this  severe  test;  but  more  question- 
able points,  and  less  important  ones,  have  been  made 
the  subjects  of  judicial  investigation.  The  points  of 
36* 


426  AMERICAN     BIBLE    SOCIETY: 

difference  are  certainly,  under  the  charter,  within  the 
cognizance  of  legal  tribunals ;  and  a  large  amount  of 
funds  might  change  hands  on  the  finding  of  the  fact, 
that  the  new  edition  differed  from  "  the  version  in 
common  use." 

3.  The  adoption  of  the  new  edition  destroys  the 
uniformity  between   the  British  and  the  American 
Bible.     The  professed  object  in  undertaking  the  col- 
lar ion  was  to  produce  "  uniformity  "  in  our  own  copies; 
and  the  measures  recommended,  namely,  a  collation 
of  the  old  American  edition  with  the  first  and  the 
tour  last  English  editions  of  authority,  would  have 
continued  the  blessing  of  one  standard  Anglo-Saxon 
Bible  for  all  the  world.     The  very  opposite  result  has 
been  reached  by  the  faux  pas  of  the  new  edition, 
which  you  had  an  agency  in  bringing  out.     England 
will  never  adopt  this  new  and  obnoxious  one ;  and 
thus  the  calamity  of  two  diverse  standard  editions, 
one  in  England,  and  another  in  America,  will  be  in- 
troduced into  the  nineteenth  century.1 

1  It  seems  "Mr.  Secretary  Brigham  communicated  to  the  Com- 
mittee that  the  Superintendent  of  Printing  found  many  discre- 
pancies still  existing  between  our  different  editions  of  the  English 
Bible,  and  also  between  our  editions  and  those  issued  by  the 
British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society."  In  regard  to  the  discre- 
pancies between  our  own  editions,  it  may  be  asked  why  the  Super- 
intendent did  not  make  all  the  editions  conform  to  the  standard 
edition  of  the  American  Bible  Society  ?  If  the  Society  had  a 
standard  edition,  here  was  the  remedy  ;  and  there  was  no  occa- 
sion for  a  Committee.     If  the  Society  had  no  staudard  edition 


ITS    ATTEMPT    AT     REVISION.  427 

4.  The  pressing  forward  of  the  new  edition  will 
put  in  jeopardy  one  of  the  common  interests  of  Pro- 
testant Christianity  in  the  United  States.  The  co- 
operation of  all  denominations  in  the  dissemination 
of  the  Word  of  God,  is  one  of  the  grand  exhibitions 
of  Protestant  unity.  Shall  this  blessed  consumma- 
tion be  disowned,  and  ended  by  divisions  in  our  ranks 
respecting  versions  ?  Can  the  American  Bible  Society 
endure  the  thought  of  another  national  institution, 
or  of  denominational  agencies,  or  of  the  printing  by 
private  publishing  houses  of  the  old  edition,  in  order 
to  satisfy  those  who,  from  principle,  are  determined 


at  that  time,  the  public  has  reason  to  complain  of  this  negli- 
gence. Admitting  the  existence  of  such  an  edition,  the  Super- 
intendent's duty  was  to  follow  it  in  all  the  Society's  editions,  and 
there  would  have  been  no  discrepancies  to  correct.  In  regard 
to  the  discrepancies  between  the  American  edition  and  those  of 
the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society,  the  only  way  to  approxi- 
mate to  an  agreement  was  to  make  a  careful  "  collation,"  or 
comparison  of  copies,  according  to  rules  like  Nos.  4,  7,  8,  of  the 
Committee.  But  what  is  the  result  ?  Instead  of  producing  uni- 
formity between  the  American  and  British  editions,  which  was 
the  Superintendent's  desire,  the  Committee,  by  transcending,  as 
it  seems  to  me,  the  original  objects  of  their  appointment,  have 
brought  forth  an  edition,  varying  from  the  British  editions  in 
words  of  the  text,  orthography,  Hebrew  plurals,  particles  of  ex- 
clamation, the  indefinite  article,  proper  names,  capital  letters, 
words  in  italics,  important  instances  of  punctuation,  parentheses, 
contents  of  the  chapters,  running  heads,  marginal  readings,  and 
marginal  references  !  Thus  the  Superintendent's  laudable  object, 
so  far  as  relates  to  uniformity  between  the  American  and  British 
editions,  has  been  utterly  thwarted,  and  the  Committee  have 
made  "confusion  worse  confouuded." 


428  AMERICAN    BIBLE     SOCIETY: 

to  testify  against  the  innovations  lately  concocted  ? 
It  will  be  a  sad  day  to  our  American  Zion  when  the 
only  form  of  united  action  among  Protestants  shall 
be  forever  excluded  from  the  history  of  Christian 
evangelization,  and  shall  exist  only  among  the  things 
that  were.  May  God  avert  this  dire  calamity  from 
the  Churches ! 

5.  This  new  edition  gives  great  occasion  to  the  new 
versionists  among  the  Baptists,  Unitarians,  and  others, 
to  magnify  the  correctness  of  their  position.  The 
principles  on  which  the  Committee  have  inaugurated 
their  work,  need  only  a  more  extensive  application, 
in  order  to  justify  what  the  Baptists  have  undertaken 
on  a  larger  scale.  The  moment  we  abandon  the  prin- 
ciple of  "  collation,"  and  tolerate  a  resort  to  Hebrew 
and  Greek  for  the  correction  of  the  English  version, 
we  lose  the  vantage  ground  in  the  controversy.  Obsta 
prbicipiis.     Hold  fast  to  that  which  is  good. 

6.  No  complaint  has  ever  been  made  against  the 
old  edition  by  any  auxiliary  or  ecclesiastical  body ; 
and  no  public  necessity  actually  exists  for  insisting 
upon  the  adoption  of  the  new  standard.  The  dis- 
covery of  even  minor  errors  and  variations  in  the  text 
was  made  in  the  printing-office,  and  not  in  the  Church 
or  in  the  family.  No  public  notice  was  ever  taken 
of  the  subject;  no  discussion  was  ever  had  in  refer- 
ence to  it ;  and  no  emergency  had  arisen  to  demand 
the    radical    changes   that   have    been    propounded. 


ITS    ATTEMPT    AT    REVISION.  429 

Under  these  circumstances,  and  when  it  is  found  im- 
possible to  obtain  the  general  acquiescence  of  the 
Christian  community  in  the  amendments  to  the  old 
version,  has  the  Bible  Society  no  alternative  but  to 
persevere? 

7.  The  present  question  is  not  simply  one  of  ma- 
jority or  minority ;  but  even  if  it  were,  the  rights  of 
the  minority  ought  not  to  be  disregarded.  In  a  court 
of  justice,  right  governs ;  and  according  to  the  old 
Dutch  maxim,  "  right  makes  might."  But  this  is,  to 
a  large  extent,  a  question  of  Christian  magnanimity. 
The  Bible  Society  is  placed  in  a  position  to  exhibit 
the  power  of  the  sacred  book  which  it  disseminates, 
by  gracefully  yielding,  whilst  yet  it  may,  to  the  popu- 
lar disapprobation  of  its  doings.  The  Bible  Society 
may,  indeed,  if  it  pleases,  refuse  "  to  be  in  subjection, 
no,  not  for  an  hour."  But  is  the  present  a  case  like 
that  before  the  mind  of  Paul,  when,  in  the  mainte- 
nance of  his  Christian  liberty,  he  refused  to  be  com- 
pelled to  bind  Jewish  ceremonies  upon  his  brethren  ? 
In  the  present  case,  the  brethren  only  ask  to  be 
allowed  to  retain  "  the  form  of  sound  words  "  which 
was  given  to  them.  If  this  version  has  been  a  good 
one  for  forty  years,  since  the  foundation  of  the  So- 
ciety, and  for  two  hundred  years  before  its  existence, 
is  it  a  very  strong  case  of  "subjection"  to  be  willing 
to  acknowledge  still  longer  its  power  ?  Can  the  Bible 
Society  do  a  better  thing  than  to  maintain  relations 


430  AMERICAN    BIBLE    SOCIETY: 

of  confidence  to  its  old  version,  and  of  .amity  to  those 
of  its  friends  who  prefer  it  to  any  other  ? 

These  considerations  are  presented  to  yourself,  my 
dear  Doctor,  and  to  other  friends  of  the  good  old 
cause,  in  the  hope  that  they  may  tend,  in  some  hum- 
ble measure,  to  conciliate  the  good-will  of  parties  in- 
terested in  this  important  matter,  and  to  secure  oiic< 
more  united  action  on  the  good  old  ground,  sanctified 
by  the  memorials  of  two  and  a  half  centuries. 

It  has  given  me  pain,  my  dear  Dominie  and  friend, 
to  differ  from  you  on  the  present  question.  I  trust 
that  our  respective  churches,  one  in  faith,  aud  in 
Christian  fellowship  and  holy  work,  will  rally  around 
the  standard  of  the  Bible  as  it  is,  and  send  down  to 
other  generations  the  legacy  of  our  fathers,  untouched 
in  one  iota  of  its  essential  text  or  accessories.  Nor 
have  I  any  doubt  that,  in  this  determination,  you 
yourself  will  be  found,  at  the  right  time,  "  submitting 
yourself"  to  your  brethren  "  in  the  fear  of  God." 
I  am  yours,  in  old  bonds, 

CORTLANDT  VAN    RENSSELAER. 


ITS     ATTEMPT     AT     REVISION.  431 


ARTICLE   II. 

REPLY  TO   DR.  VERMILYE'S   REJOINDER.* 

To  the  Rev.  T.  E.  Vermilye,  D.  D. : 
My  Dear  Doctor. — One  of  your  grave  indiscretions 
and  errors  has  been  to  begin  and  continue  these  let- 
ters, under  no  inconsiderable  excitement  towards  the 
Old  School  Presbyterian  Church,  or  its  "  leaders,"  as 
you  are  pleased  to  call  them.  Scarcely  any  one  would 
have  suspected  that  you  had  been  '-'born,  baptized, 
licensed,  and  ordained"  within  the  communion  of 
our  venerable  body.  May  the  blessing  of  her  baptis- 
mal administration  be  upon  your  head,  and  her  holy 
nurture  be  more  completely  realized  in  the  labours 
of  your  advancing  life  ! 

My  rebuke  of  the  severe  language,  thoughtlessly 
employed  against  two  of  our  Theological  Professors, 
was  not  founded  upon  the  single  paragraph,  which 
admits  of  the  explanation  offered,  and  cordially  ac- 
cepted, but  upon  many  expressions  in  the  letter,  and 
the  unfortunate  tone  which  pervaded  the  whole.  I 
presume  you  have  no  idea  of  the  real  force  of  some 
of  the  expressions  in  your  letter,  especially  on  per- 


1  Originally  published  in  "  The  Presbyterian,"  of  November 
14,  1857. 


4:32  AMERICAN     BIBLE     SOCIETY: 

sonal  topics — which  it  would  have  been  wiser  to  avoid 
— and  of  the  various  imputations  of  motives  and  cha- 
racter therein  abounding.  As  you  have  made  no 
apology  for  this  style  of  writing,  I  venture  to  submit 
the  above  as  its  best  extenuation. 

I  have  again  read  the  speeches  of  Drs.  Breckinridge 
and  Aclger  in  the  Princeton  Review.  They  do  not 
appear  to  me  to  authorize  the  hard  things  you  affirm 
of  them.  The  occasion  required  direct  and  plain 
dealing ;  and  if  some  things  were  said  in  an  extem- 
poraneous discussion,  which  had  better  been  left  un- 
said, as  is  very  apt  to  be  the  case,  this  does  not  war- 
rant the  very  severe  opprobrium  which  proceeds  from 
the  calm  retirement  of  a  pastor's  study.  Permit  me 
here  to  assure  you  that  no  man  exerts  a  greater  in- 
fluence in  our  General  Assembly  than  Dr.  Breckin- 
ridge, whom  you  assail  in  vain.  Nor  is  any  man  more 
honoured  throughout  the  whole  Presbyterian  Church, 
for  his  past  and  present  services,  than  our  great  Ken- 
tucky divine.  His  speech  on  the  Bible  Society's  new 
measures  was  among  the  ablest  and  most  valuable 
performances  of  his  life  —  a  speech  in  which,  by  the 
bye.  he  made  a  kind  allusion  to  yourself  as  an  es- 
teemed minister  of  the  Dutch  Church,  and  which  in 
its  severest  parts  was  replete  with  a  good  humour 
and  a  parliamentary  amiability,  which  some  of  his 
critics  seem  utterly  at  a  loss  to  imitate,  or  even  com- 
prehend. 


ITS     ATTEMPT     AT     REVISION.  433 

The  distinction  you  make  between  arraigning  the 
motives  and  actions  of  our  whole  Church  and  of  a,  part 
of  our  Church,  is  of  no  avail,  as  regards  the  spirit  of 
the  language  employed,  or  as  to  the  matter  of  fact  at 
issue,  or  as  an  apology  for  the  offence  committed,  be- 
cause on  no  public  question  is  our  Church  probably 
nearer  to  unanimity  than  its  opposition  to  the  new 
edition  of  the  Bible.  The  General  Assembly,  in  a 
Christian  spirit,  consented  to  postpone  action  until 
another  year,  after  the  fullest  declaration  from  one 
of  your  Secretaries  that  the  objectionable  alterations 
would  probably  be  removed,  and  the  text  and  its  ac- 
cessories be  restored  to  their  former  condition. 

It  appears  to  me  to  be  no  part  of  your  vocation,  in 
discussing  this  subject,  to  find  fault  with  the  Presby- 
terian Church,  or  the  High-Church  faction  in  it,  or  its 
"  unfortunate  leadership."  What  right  has  a  Bible 
Society  Manager  to  attempt  to  "  lord  it  over  God's 
heritage,"  and  to  denounce  the  donominational  pecu- 
liarities of  this  Church,  or  of  that  Church  ?  Admit- 
ting that  Old  School  Presbyterians  are  a  set  of  bigots. 
far  behind  the  times,  and  dreadfully  set  against  inno- 
vation, what  is  all  that  to  you,  my  old  friend,  or  to 
the  Committee  of  Revision  ?  We  claim  the  liberty 
of  examining  into  the  whole  matter  of  these  proposed 
emendations,  and  even  of  discussing  the  authority 
and  the  qualifications  of  those  who  have  been  instru- 
mental in  agitating  the  community  on  the  sacred 
37  2  c 


434  AMERICAN     BIBLE     SOCIETY: 

theme  of  their  forefathers'  Bible.  Let  our  arguments 
be  answered,  as  far  as  they  can  be;  but  you  have  no 
right  to  stigmatize  our  "  leaders,"  '  to  cast  insinuations 
against  our  motives,  or  to  impeach  the  denominational 
characteristics,  either  of  the  whole  Church,  or  of  a 
party  in  it. 

Your  persistent  attempt  to  amend  the  Episcopal 
Liturgy  is  as  unfortunate  as  the  effort  to  improve  the 
old  Bible.  It  shows  that  when  a  modern  Reformer 
begins  a  work  he  lias  no  right  to  touch,  there  is 
scarcely  anything  that  will  not  tempt  the  benevolenl 
curiosity  of  his  hands. 

Let  me  entreat  you,  first,  to  moderate  some  of  the 
extravagant  expressions  of  what  may  be  called  high 
style.  A  stranger  might  think  that  the  "excellent 
oil,"  which  you  complain  as  profusely  scattered  over 
•lerical  garments,  has  not  yet  reached  the  beard,  even 
the  good  Dominie's  beard.  But  those  who  know  you 
are  prepared  to  make  allowances  for  these  uncharac- 
teristic exaggerations  of  language.  In  the  second 
place,  let  our  Church  and  her  peculiarities  alone  ;  and 
argue  the  case  on  its  own  merits,  without  acting  the 
bishop  in  other  people's  dioceses. 

Allow  me,  now,  to  glance  at  some  of  your  positions. 


1  The  Presbyterian  Church  acknowledges  no  -'leaders;"  but 
as  Dr.Verrailye  has  used  the  word,  I  hope  I  commit  no  offence 
in  employing  it  in  my  reply. 


ITS     ATTEMPT     AT     REVISION.  435 

and  to  expose  their  fallacy  with  moderation  and  kind 
feeling.     Our  common  aim  is  the  truth. 
•     1.  You  say  that  I  certainly  know  that  "  the  Society 
lias  not  attempted  any  alteration  in  the  version,"  and 
that  "  the  Committee  has  disavowed  everything  but 
revision  and  restoration."     But  what  says  the  Com- 
mittee's Report?     It  is  as  follows  :  "  The  Committee 
have  had  no  authority  and  no  desire  to  go  behind  the 
translators,  nor  in  any  respect  to  touch  the  original 
version  of  the  text,  unless  in  cases  of  evident  inad- 
vertence, or  inconsistency,  open  and  manifest  to  all" 
p.  19.     Now  here  are  cases  specified  in  which  the 
Committee  actually  declare  "  a  desire  "  to  go  "  behind 
the   translators,  and  to  touch  the  original  version." 
Where  they  obtained  their  "  authority "  to  do  this, 
under  any  circumstances,  from  their  commission  to 
"  collate,"  they  have  not  yet  informed  the  public, 
although  you  say  that  their  report  is  "frank  and 
open  to  a  fault."    It  appears  to  me  that  the  Commit- 
tee's "desire"   transcended  their  "authority;"    and 
furthermore,  that  neither  their  "  authority  nor  desire  " 
came  up  to  the  condition  expressed  in  their  own  state- 
ment, because  the  propriety  of  going  "behind  the 
translators,  and  touching  the  original  version  of  the 
text,"  is  now  pretty  well  decided  not  to  be  "  open  and 
manifest  to  all."     Some  of  the  cases  in  which  the 
Committee  acted  out  their  "  desire,"  will  be  specified 


436  AMERICAN     BIBLE     SOCIETY: 

presently.     Thus  much  for  your  a  priori  appeal  to 
my  credulity. 

2.  You  next  declare  that  "  the  Report  gives  the 
whole"  number  of  alterations  in  the  words  of  the 
text,  and  find  fault  with  me  for  expressing  some  un- 
certainty. My  uncertainty  grew  entirely  out  of  your 
own  declaration,  respecting  the  insertion  of  the  article 
between  John  and  Baptist,  in  two  places,  where  you 
say  "  the  Committee  ventured  perhaps  unwarrantably 
to  insert  the  article"  Inasmuch  as  the  Report  says 
nothing  about  these  two  instances,  how  can  you  recon- 
cile their  occurrence  with  your  present  declaration 
that  "the  Report  gives  the  whole"?  Can  "the 
Report  give  the  whole,"  when  Dr.  Vermilye  adds  two 
cases  not  found  in  the  Report  ?  If  the  fact  that  the 
Report  does  not  give  the  whole  is,  as  you  say,  "  a 
good  stone  to  pelt  with,"  who  picked  up  the  stone, 
and  who  but  the  Dutch  dominie  pelts  the  Report  ? 

3.  The  alterations  in  the  text  by  means  of  words, 
I  stated  to  be  "  at  least  four,"  which  was  moderate, 
as  they  are  really  five,  viz.,  twice  in  John  the  Baptist, 
twice  in  Canticles,  where  she  is  substituted  for  he,  and 
again  in  inserting  the  before  judgment.  The  two 
cases  about  John  the  Baptist  are  admitted  by  you  to 
have  been  "  perhaps  unwarrantable."  But  why  un- 
warrantable, unless  they  involved  a  doubtful  prin- 
ciple— doubtful  now  even  in  your  judgment,  and  posi- 
tively wrong  in  the  judgment  of  others?     The  two 


ITS     ATTEMPT     AT     REVISION.  437 

cases  in  Canticles  you  attempt  to  defend  on  the 
ground  that  they  were  original  errors  in  printing. 
But  how  could  you  find  this  'out  by  collation  ?  Re- 
member that  your  authority  only  extended  to  colla- 
tion, and  that  by  the  very  rules  of  your  own  forma- 
tion, you  were  tied  up  to  collate  the  American  edition, 
"  with  those  of  London,  Oxford,  Cambridge,  Edin- 
burgh, and  the  original  edition  of  1611,"  p.  17.  Now. 
the  Report  states  that  "the  translators  and  all  the 
copies  have,  till  he  please."  Here  your  work  obviously 
stopped,  and  your  own  rule  bound  you  to  go  no  fur- 
ther, but  to  let  the  word  stand.  But,  in  opposition 
to  all  authority  originally  given,  or  defined  and  lim- 
ited by  your  own  rule,  you  went  "  behind  the  trans- 
lators," and  behind  every  copy  of  the  Scriptures  ever 
published,  and  corrected  the  text  "  according  to  the 
Hebreiv"  p.  20.  In  the  same  way,  the  insertion  of 
the  article  before  "judgment,"  is  contrary  to  all  the 
copies  prescribed  as  your  standards  of  collation.  Tn 
your  last  letter,  you  indeed  say  that  the  article  is 
found  in  the  editions  of  1639,  '40,  '41,  '58,  and  83. 
But  what  of  that?  This  is.  in  the  first  place,  appeal- 
ing to  different  editions  than  those  prescribed  by  the 
Board  of  Managers  and  your  own  selves,  which  were 
"  the  recent  copies  of  the  four  leading  British  editions. 
and  the  one  of  1611,"  p.  16  ;  and  in  the  second  place, 
this  is  an  after-thought  of  your  own,  differing  from 
the  statement  of  the  Report,  which  is :  Matt.  12  :  21, 
37* 


438  AMERICAN     BIBLE     SOCIETY: 

reads,  in  all  the  copies,  "shall  rise  up  in  judgment," 
p.  20.  Collation,  therefore,  utterly  failed,  according 
to  the  Report,  to  discover  the  error.  How,  then,  was 
it  found  out  ?  The  Report  tells  you,  "  this  is  required 
by  the  Greek"  p.  20.  In  this  instance,  as  in  others, 
the  Committee's  "  desire  "  was  to  go  behind  the  trans- 
lators, and  behind  them  they  went;  but  where  was 
their  "  authority  "  to  do  so  ?  As  I  said  before,  these 
alterations,  whether  important  or  unimportant,  involve 
a  great  principle,  namely,  the  right  of  the  American 
Bible  Society  to  go  behind  the  translators  for  any 
purposes  whatever.  The  title-pages  of  our  old  Eng- 
lish Bibles  contain  the  announcement,  "With  former 
translations  diligently  compared  and  revised."  Your 
new  edition  is  the  first  one,  in  the  history  of  Bible 
Societies,  that  has  dared  to  go  beyond  these  words, 
and  to  introduce  changes  by  consulting  the  "  original 
tongues." 

4.  In  regard  to  the  changes  of  the  text  by  means 
of  capitals,  I  merely  followed  the  declaration  of  this 
curious  Report  itself.  If  the  reader  will  turn  to  page 
24,  he  will  find  the  passages  referred  to  arranged  in 
two  columns,  of  which  the  left,  without  capitals,  is 
headed  "  English  copies"  and  the  right  column,  with 
the  capitals,  is  headed  "Corrected  "  and  these  passages 
are  presented  as  "  specimens  of  changes  which  have 
been  made."  Yet  you  now  say  that  in  three  of  these 
cases  there  were  no  changes  at  all,  but  "  in  each  in- 


ITS    ATTEMPT     AT     REVISION.  439 

stance  the  Committee  left  it  as  they  found  it  in  the 
Society's  edition  ! "  The  four  passages  I  alluded  to 
were  Genesis  6  :  3 ;  41  :  38 ;  Numbers  24  :  2  ;  and 
Revelation  4:5.  Of  Genesis  41  :  38,  you  say 
nothing,  nor  do  you  inform  the  public  whether  these 
examples  exhaust  all  the  cases,  or  whether,  in  the 
language  of  the  Report,  they  are  "specimens." 

5.  The  four  specimens  of  alteration  in  the  old  ver- 
sion by  means  of  'punctuation  were  also  given  on  the 
authority  of  the  Report,  which  has  your  signature, 
and  which  distinctly  admits  that  they  affect  the  sense : 
"  The  following  five  changes  made  in  the  punctua- 
tion, are  all,  it  is  believed,  which  affect  the  sense"  p. 
25  ;  and  yet  you  now  argue  that  the  sense  is  not 
affected.  How  strange  to  find  Dr.  Vermilye,  of  the 
sub-committee,  again  arguing  against  the  Report  of 
his  Committee !  The  most  remarkable  of  your  varia- 
tions from  your  own  Report,  is  in  your  statement 
about  the  punctuation  in  Romans  4:1,  which  pas- 
sage, according  to  your  letter,  is  pointed  so  as  to  pre- 
sent the  meaning  "  given  in  the  pointing  of  all  the 
English  copies,  and  of  1611 ;"  whereas  the  Report  of 
your  Committee  says :  "  This  is  found  in  no  edition 
hitherto"  p.  25.  How  is  this?  Is  the  Report  of  the 
Committee,  as  you  say,  "open  and  frank  to  a  fault?" 
Whose  fault  is  this  ?  If  it  be  said  that  the  peculiarity 
of  the  new  standard  is  in  having  a  comma  after 
•'Abraham"  as  well  as  after  "  father,"  I  reply,  that 


440  AMERICAN     BIBLE     SOCIETY: 

the  first  comma  does  not  affect  the  sense,  and  that 
consequently  the  stress  of  the  Committee's  claim  of 
emendation  is  on  the  second  comma,  which  change 
alone  "affects  the  sense."  The  punctuation  of  the 
English  Bibles,  where  the  comma  is  after  both 
"father"  and  "flesh."  leaves  the  sense  doubtful,  and 
I  differ  from  you  in  the  opinion  thai  the  meaning  in 
the  English  copies  is  necessarily  the  same  as  in  the 
new  standard.  When  you  will  show  how  the  Report 
came  to  declare  that  the  punctuation  of  the  two  pas- 
sages in  1  and  2  Corinthians  do  "affect  the  sense/' 
while  you  now  deny  that  they  do,  it  will  be  time 
enough  for  me  to  answer  your  question  whether  they 
do  or  not. 

6.  Bracket*  and  italic*  in  1  John  2  :  23.  Here 
again  you  not  only  go  behind  the  translators,  but  also 
behind  the  Committee.  The  Report  says  that  "  the 
clause  is  now  inserted  in  all  critical  editions  of  the  Greek 
Testament ;  and  oa  there  is  no  question  of  its  genuine- 
ness, both  the  brackets  and  the  italics  have  been 
dropped,"  p.  26.  The  Committee's  theory  of  altera- 
tion is  new  critical  light  from  the  Greek.  But  Dr. 
Vermilye's  theory  is  that  "  in  throwing  out  the  brack- 
ets, we  follow  the  majority  of  the  English  copies."' 
thus  attempting  to  fortify  the  change  by  a  numerical 
majority.  At  the  same  time  you  say  nothing  about 
removing  the  italics  of  the  text,  which  are  found  in 
all  the  English  copies,  including  that  of  1611.     The 


ITS     ATTEMPT    AT     REVISION.  441 

question  I  here  put  is  this.  If  the  majority  of  copies 
authorized  you  to  remove  the  brackets,  why  did  not 
the  authority  of  all  the  copies  compel  you  to  retain 
the  italics? 

The  fact  is  that  your  authority  only  authorized  you 
to  "  collate,"  or,  as  your  own  rules  have  it,  to  make  a 
"comparison"  (Rules  2,  3,  p.  16),  between  the  Eng- 
lish copies;  but  your  "  desire  "  led  to  a  consultation 
of  the  original  languages,  and  thus  to  alterations  of 
the  text.  Dr.  Breckinridge's  idea,  to  which  you  refer, 
was  that  the  Committee  had  no  right  to  go  to  the 
Greek  at  all ;  but  even  if  they  went  there,  he  had  so 
little  knowledge  of  their  qualifications  that  he  could 
not  confide  in  their  conclusions.  I  am  content  to  say 
that  you  had  no  right  to  go  to  the  original  languages, 
for  the  purpose  of  alteration.  You  were  commissioned 
to  collate,  and  not  to  translate  or  to  revise  from  the 
Hebrew  or  Greek.  If  the  Committee  had  kept  to  the 
original  idea  of  Dr.  Brigham  and  of  the  superintend- 
ent of  printing,  p.  15,  most,  if  not  all,  of  these  diffi- 
culties would  have  been  avoided. 

The  Committee's  zeal  of  innovation  covers  a  larger 
ground  than  I  can  now  undertake  to  so  over.  Anions 
other  notable  instances  of  its  exhibition  is  the  inser- 
tion of  new  marginal  readings.  The  Committee  give 
us  King  James's  rule,  and  then  say  they  have  ';  added 
but  two  examples  "  —  thus  putting  themselves  on  a 
level  with  the  translators,  when  they  do  not  show 


4:42  A  M  E  K  I  C  A  N     BIBLE     SOL'l  E  T  Y  : 

that  they  ever  received  authority  to  meddle  with  the 
margin,  except  so  far  as  their  doings  were  afterwards 
approved  by  the  Managers.  One  of  these  new  words 
put  into  the  margin,  is  opposite  the  word  "  Easter," 
in  Acts  12  :  14,  as  follows  :  "  Gr.  the  Passover."  Now, 
according  to  the  alterations  on  page  20,  where  it  is 
said,  "All  these  instances  have,  of  course,  been  cor- 
rected according  to  the  Hebrew;"  and  "this  is  re- 
quired by  the  Greek"  the  Committee  might  have  put 
"  Passover "  into  the  text  instead  of  "  Easter ; "  for 
the  Greek  requires  "  passover "  as  much  as  "  the  " 
before  "judgment,"  and  it  is  actually  so  rendered  in 
every  other  passage  in  the  Bible.  This  is  mentioned 
incidentally  to  show  how  dangerous  it  is  to  go  behind 
the  translators  in  order  to  correct  errors.  The  Com- 
mittee, however,  have  taken  the  next  greatest  liberty 
by  putting  "Passover"  in  tlie  margin,  which  the 
translators  did  not  do,  and  which  the  Committee 
justify  themselves  in  doing,  because  King  James's 
rule  would  have  authorized  it ! 

The  Committee  state  with  great  apparent  gravity 
that  "  they  entertain  a  reverence  for  the  antique 
forms  of  words  and  orthography  in  the  Bible,"  p.  20  ; 
and  then  they  give  tico  specimens  of  their  reverence 
in  retaining  the  words  "  hoised "  and  "  graff,"  and 
forly-seven  specimens  of  alterations  which  indirectly 
indicate  the  opposite  virtue.  In  truth,  their  reve- 
rence for  what  is  old,  compared  with  their  curiosity 


ITS     ATTEMPT     AT     REVISION.  443 

after  what  is  new,  appears  to  be  well  stated  in  the 
proportion  of  two  to  forty-seven. 

It  is  impossible  for  any  impartial  person,  I  think,  to 
read  the  long  Report  of  the  Committee  without  per- 
ceiving that  the  new  American  edition  differs  more 
than  any  previous  one,  from  the  English  copies.  The 
differences  consist  in  several  words  of  the  version  ;  in 
the  spelling  of  common  nouns,  participles,  Hebrew 
plurals,  particles  of  exclamation,  forms  of  the  article, 
and  proper  names;  in  compound  words;  capital  let- 
ters ;  words  in  italics ;  parentheses  and  brackets ; 
without  counting  the  innumerable  changes  in  the  ac- 
cessories of  the  text.  In  punctuation,  there  may  be 
more  general  similarity,  but  there  are  five  cases  of 
alterations  which  "  affect  the  sense."  As  a  whole,  I 
affirm,  without  hesitation,  that  the  American  edition 
varies,  more  than  it  ever  did  before,  from  the  English 
copies,  if  the  Report  of  the  Committee  can  be  relied 
upon . 

There  is  a  long  paragraph  in  your  letter  mystifying 
the  version  of  1816,  and  just  so  far  discrediting  the  ope- 
rations of  the  American  Bible  Society  for  a  series  of 
years.  You  challenge  me  to  produce  this  version,  in 
terms  apparently  implying  the  impossibility.  As  re- 
gards the  American  Bible  Society,  I  suppose  that  the 
first  edition  it  published  was  "  the  version  in  common 
use"  in  1816.  If  it  was  not,  the  Society  committed 
a  great  wrong.     Please  to  take  notice.  Doctor,  that  I 


444  AMERICAN     BIBLE     SOCIETY: 

do  not  affirm  that  this  edition  was  a  "perfect  stand- 
ard," as  you  strangely  seem  to  think  it  must  necessa- 
rily have  been.     It  no  doubt  had  errors  of  the  press, 
to  be  corrected  by  collation  with  the  English  copies. 
But  it  must  have  been  (these  errors  excepted)  the 
version  then  in  common  use,  or  else  great  culpability 
is  chargeable  upon  the  American  Bible  Society,  who 
were  bound  to  see  that  it  possessed  this  character. — 
I  produce,  then,  in  compliance  with  your  peremptory 
demand,  the  edition  of  the  Bible,  first  struck  off  by 
the  Society,  as  a  standard  edition  of  1816,  not  indeed 
••/>  rfect"  or  "immaculate,"  but  subject  to  the  correc- 
tion of  such  errors  as  a  careful  collation  with  English 
copies  would  discover.     The  Bible  Society  do  not  pre- 
tend that  any  of  their  editions  have  been  "  perfect ;" 
and  even  the  Committee,  who  have  brought  out  the 
new  standard,  say  that  "they  claim  no  special  free- 
dom from  error ;   they  may  very  possibly  not  always 
have  fully  carried  out  their  own   rules ;    they  may 
have  committed  oversights,"  p.  31.     Just  such  errors, 
owing  to  oversights,  may  have  existed  in  the  old 
plates  of  the  New  York  Bible  Society,  handed  over 
to  the  parent  Institution.    But  there  was  "the  version 
in  common  use,"  which,  errors  excepted,  was,  to  all 
intents  and  purposes,  the  version  to  be  perpetuated ; 
and  if  that  edition  of  it,  owing  to  the  culpable  negli- 
gence of  the  Society,  did  not  fulfil  the  requirements 
of  the  Constitution,  the  standard  edition  of  that  pe- 


ITS    ATTEMPT    AT     REVISION.  445 

riod  may  at  any  time  be  reproduced  by  taking  the 
Oxford  or  Cambridge  editions  of  1816,  published  by 
royal  authority.  Either  of  these  editions  would  meet 
the  demands  of  the  Constitution  of  the  American 
Bible  Society  in  a  court  of  law.  Why,  then,  do  you 
write  with  such  imposing  solemnity  of  tone  about  the 
impossibility  of  finding  the  standard  edition  of  1816, 
damaging  at  the  same  time,  as  you  do,  especially  in 
the  eyes  of  uncritical  readers,  the  whole  cause  of 
Bible  printing  and  circulation  under  the  auspices  of 
the  American  Bible  Society  in  past  years  ?  Between 
this  old  edition  of  1816,  and  the  other  editions  of  the 
American  Bible  Society,  up  to  1851,  there  has  been 
a  substantial  agreement.  Your  new  standard,  I  admit, 
contains  serious  variations ;  and  yet  you  seem  to  want 
the  public  to  believe  that  the  "  version  in  common 
use"  in  1816  cannot  now  be  produced.  The  two 
great  fallacies  in  your  reasoning  on  this  point  are, 
first,  in  supposing  that  anybody  ever  had  the  idea 
that  any  edition  of  1816  was  a  "  perfect "  one ;  and 
secondly,  in  supposing  4hat  anybody  had  objections 
to  the  correction  of  that,  or  any  other  edition,  by  col- 
lation, at  any  time.  The  objections  to  your  new  edi- 
tion are  not  to  the  correction  of  errors  by  collation, 
but  to  their  correction  in  other  ways,  and  to  many 
alterations  made  at  the  independent  discretion  of  the 
Committee.  There  is  no  more  difficulty  in  finding 
"  the  version  in  common  use"  in  1816.  than  in  1826, 
38 


446  AMERICAN     BIBLE     SOCIETY: 

1836,  1846,  or  in  any  other  year.  What  you  say  of 
the  copies  your  Committee  collated,  is  true  of  any  of 
the  editions,  "  the  reproduction  of  any  one,  as  it 
stood  (i  e.  even  with  its  errors),  would  have  been 
substantially  the  reproduction  of  King  James's  Bible." 
Why  all  this  special  pleading,  then,  about  the  version 
in  1816? 

As  to  the  headings,  your  letter  contains  an  equally 
ingenious  attempt  at  innocent  mystification.  In  the 
first  place,  no  one  has  ever  claimed  that  these  head- 
ings must  necessarily  be  in  all  the  editions,  quarto, 
octavo,  duodecimo,  etc.  In  the  second  place,  so  far 
as  the  headings  of  the  first  edition  published  by  the 
American  Bible  Societ}7  varied  from  those  in  common 
use,  they  are  unlawful.  In  the  third  place,  it  makes 
no  difference  whether  the  first  new  plates  had  head- 
ings, or  not;  because  the  Society  had  discretion  to 
print  editions  without  them.  In  the  fourth  place, 
all  the  ambiguity  you  throw  around  the  headings  of 
the  other  early  American  editions,  is  so  much  negli- 
gence set  to  the  account  of  the  Parent  Society.  In 
the  fifth  place,  you  acknowledge  that  the  old  standard 
headings  were  introduced  "  about  1828."  Here,  then, 
we  are  out  of  the  fog,  at  last.  The  Society,  after  a 
careful  examination,  perhaps  at  the  instance  of  "  the 
Superintendent  of  Printing,"  finally  reached  the  true 
ground,  and  fortunately  without  the  aid  of  a  Revision 
Committee  of  extraordinary  powers.     This  return  to 


ITS     ATTEMPT     AT     REVISION.  447 

the  old  letter  "  shows  what  interpretation  the  founders 
put  upon  their  own  constitution  in  respect  to  head- 
ings." (Dr.  Ver.)  In  the  sixth  place,  the  continu- 
ance of  these  old  headings  to  the  present  time,  indi- 
cates their  acknowledged  binding  authority  in  con- 
nection with  editions  in  which  they  appear.  In  the 
seventh  place,  the  objections  against  any  headings, 
made  by  some  persons  in  the  olden  time — which  your 
memory  reaches,  but  whereof  I  am  not  personally 
cognizant  —  and  the  discussions  growing  therefrom, 
make  it  appear  that  the  Society  then  settled  the  prin- 
ciple of  the  thing,  and  have  acted  upon  it,  as  a  thing 
settled,  down  to  1857.  In  the  eighth  place,  the  ac- 
cessories, although  not  of  divine  origin,  may  by  cir- 
cumstances be  required  to  be  as  unchangeable  as  the 
text.  To  insist  that  a  Revision  Committee  shall  keep 
their  hands  off  of  the  headings,  by  no  means  exalts 
"  these  human  trappings  to  a  level  wTith  the  Divine 
Word."  (Dr.  Ver.)  In  the  ninth  place,  the  issue 
that  you  are  undertaking  to  raise  by  presenting  the 
alternative  of  new  improved  headings  or  none  at  all, 
is  radical  and  revolutionary ;  and,  depend  upon  it,  it 
is  utterly  impracticable.  The  people  clearly  will  not 
submit  to  any  such  alternative  at  all.  They  will 
insist  upon  the  old  headings,  deliberately  adopted  by 
the  Society,  and  in  common  use  in  various  editions, 
until  these  latter  clays  of  alteration.  What  I  mean 
is  that,  on  this  subject,  the  American  Bible  Society 


448  AMERICAN     BIBLE     SOCIETY: 

shall  not  change  its  old  policy  and  practice.  Although 
the  Society  is  not  bound  to  put  the  headings  into  all 
the  editions,  large  and  small,  it  ought  to  continue  to 
put  them  into  those  editions  where  they  have  ordi- 
narily been  found.  In  the  tenth  place,  the  printing 
of  the  old  headings  with  the  version  has  the  sanction 
of  immemorial  usage  in  the  parent  country,  as  well 
as  in  our  own  ;  and  this  usage  has  taken  them  out  of 
the  category  of  prohibited,  "  note  and  comment."  The 
Constitution  requires  the  Society  to  publish  the  edi- 
tions of  the  Bible  in  its  integrity,  as  it  was  issued 
from  the  English  press,  comprehending  text  and  ac- 
cessories. These  various  points,  briefly  stated,  I  hold 
to  be  impregnable,  notwithstanding  the  specious  rea- 
soning in  the  latter  part  of  your  letter.  The  Ame- 
rican Bible  Society  will  in -.peril  its  character,  position, 
and  usefulness,  if  it  undertakes  in  any  respect  to  alter 
the  words  of  the  text,  or  of  the  accessories,  except  as 
to  errors  to  be  corrected  by  collation. 

And  now,  permit  me  just  to  hint  at  some  practical 
lessons  deduced  from  your  attempts  at  Bible  emen- 
dation. 

1.  You  see,  my  good  friend,  that  it  is  a  very  dan- 
gerous thing  to  meddle  with  what  is  old.  Whatever 
is  incorporated  with  the  religious  feelings  and  usages 
of  the  community,  has  a  sanctity  that  contains  a 
dreadful  power  of  resistance. 

2.  A  Bible  Society  ought  to  "  abstain  from  all  ap- 


ITS     ATTEMPT     AT     REVISION.  449 

pearance  of  evil."  Better  keep  on  in  the  good  old 
ways,  than  strike  into  new  and  doubtful  paths  under 
a  guidance  which  lacks  universal  confidence. 

3.  The  right  to  "  print  and  circulate  "  involves  the 
right  to  collate  for  the  purpose  of  correcting  errors 
that  may  be  so  detected,  but  it  will  not  be  allowed  to 
go  any  farther.  Collation  does  not  involve  the  right 
of  making  other  kinds  of  alterations  in  the  text  and 
its  accessories. 

4.  The  fact  that  the  alterations  made  "do not  mar 
the  integrity  of  the  text,  or  affect  any  doctrine  or 
precept  of  the  Bible,"  p.  31,  is  not  a  sufficient  plea 
of  justification.  Hundreds  of  other  alterations,  besides 
those  effected  by  your  Committee,  might  be  made  in 
words  and  even  in  the  construction  of  sentences,  and 
in  this  plausible  way  claim  admittance. 

5.  Things  that  are  considered  unimportant  by  some 
people,  are  regarded  by  others,  equally  conscientious, 
as  vitally  important,  because  involving  fundamental 
principles.  Conservatives  are  quite  as  useful  charac- 
ters in  civil  society,  as  innovators  and  progressives. 
Future  generations,  as  well  as  the  mass  of  sober- 
minded  people  of  the  present  generation,  will  thank 
the  Old  School  Presbyterians  for  the  stand  they  have 
taken  against  unwarrantable  Bible  emendations. 

6.  God  will  bring  good  out  of  evil,  and  will  es- 
tablish the  cause  of  the  old  Saxon  Bible  upon  a  firmer 

38  *  2d 


450  AMERICAN     BIBLE     SOCIETY: 

foundation  than  ever.     Let  our  works  rather  than 
our  wrath  be  made  to  praise  him. 

The  American  Bible  Society  was  planned  in  the 
city  of  Burlington;  New  Jersey,,  where  the  first  mea- 
sures were  taken  to  found  the  National  Institution ; 
and  of  the  members  of  the  Convention,  which  after- 
wards met  in  New  York  to  draw  up  the  Constitution, 
etc.,  about  one-half  of  the  ministers  were  Presbyte- 
rians, and  Presbyterians  whose  character  and  subse- 
quent history  identified  them  with  the  Old  School. 
It  is  to  me,  personally,  a  pleasing  incident  that,  from 
this  city  of  its  origin,  where  its  first  President  re- 
sided, and  as  an  Old  School  Presbyterian  minister,  I 
have  been  permitted  to  raise  my  voice,  however 
feebly,  in  behalf  of  the  American  Bible  Society,  and 
its  English  Bible  of  1816.  In  the  name  of  that  il- 
lustrious Convention,  I  call  upon  all  the  friends  of 
good  order,  of  peace,  and  of  the  old  version  and  its 
accessories,  to  maintain  their  position  of  truth  and 
right,  with  courtesy,  firmness,  and  a  reliance  upon  an 
overruling  Providence. 

Your  old  friend,  dear  Dominie, 

CORTLANDT  VAN    RENSSELAER. 


ITS    ATTEMPT    AT     REVISION.  451 


AETICLE   III. 

PROTEST   OF   THE   COMMITTEE   OF   REVISION,    AND   AN 
ANSWER   TO   IT. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Managers  held  Feb. 
4th.  1858,  leave  having  been  granted  to  Dr.  Vermilye 
to  read  a  Protest  from  several  members  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Versions,  he  proceeded  to  the  reading  of 
that  paper,  as  follows  : 

PROTEST. 

The  undersigned,  members  of  the  Standing  Committee  on 
Versions,  feel  constrained  to  present  their  formal  protest  against 
the  resolutions  adopted  by  this  Board,  at  its  recent  adjourned 
meeting,  on  the  subject  of  the  standard  English  Bible  circulated 
by  the  Society,  and  of  the  proposed  alterations  in  the  same. 

They  protest  against  these  resolutions : 

First,  As  assuming  a  principle  which  is  distinctly  and  em- 
phatically contradicted  by  the  earliest  history  of  this  Society,  as 
well  as  by  the  customs  of  the  English  presses,  and  the  uniform 
and  established  usage  of  language  —  the  principle,  viz.,  that  the 
accessories  to  that  version  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures  which  this 
Society  was  organized  to  distribute,  are  an  integral  and  perma- 
nent part  of  the  version,  and  are,  therefore,  not  susceptible  of 
change  and  improvement  by  the  action  of  this  Society  under  its 
present  constitution. 

They  protest  against  the  resolutions : 

Secondly,  As  giving  validity,  and  the  authority  of  this  Board, 
to  changes  heretofore  introduced  by  entirely  unknown  persons — 
probably  by  editors  or  proof-readers  —  in  the  text  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, as  well  as  its  accessories,  and  making  these  an  incorporate 


452  AMERICAN     BIBLE     SOCIETY: 

aud  a  co-ordinate  part  of  the  version  to  be  circulated  by  this 
Society  ;  while  the  careful  corrections,  unanimously  suggested 
by  the  Committee  on  Versions,  under  their  responsibility  to  the 
Board  the  Society,  and  the  Christian  public,  and  which  have 
been  heretofore  adopted  by  the  Board,  are  rejected  and  set  aside. 

They  protest  against  the  resolutions : 

Thirdly,  As  attributing  a  practical  infallibility  to  the  editors 
and  printers  of  previous  editions  of  the  Holy  Scriptures;  or,  at 
least,  as  giving  an  altogether  unwarranted  sacredness  and  au- 
thority to  eveiTthe  palpable  errors  and  oversights  committed  by 
these ;  thus  exposing  the  Society  to  just  criticism  and  censure, 
and  a  great  and  injurious  limitation  of  its  usefulness. 

They  protest  against  the  resolutions  : 

Fourthly,  As  restoring,  and,  in  effect,  perpetuating  "head- 
ings "  and  -'contents  of  chapters"  which  were  not  prepared  by 
the  College  Translators,  by  whom  our  excellent  version  was 
made  ;  which  have  had  no  constant  acceptance  and  support  in 
the  editions  of  the  Scriptures  issued  in  Great  Britain  or  in  this 
country  ;  which  were  not  followed  in  the  earliest  Bibles  published 
by  this  Society,  and  were  not  introduced  into  any  of  these  till 
the  year  1830;  which  contain  many  obsolete  terms  and  phrases 
not  found  in  the  version,  with  not  a  few  statements  that  are  pal- 
pably untrue,  being  expressly  contradicted  by  the  text;  and 
many  of  which  "headings,"  etc.,  are,  in  the  judgment  of  the 
undersigned,  in  direct  and  plain  contravention  of  that  first  article 
of  the  constitution  of  the  Society  which  inhibits  it  from  publish- 
ing "note  or  comment." 

They  protest  against  these  resolutions  : 

Fifthly,  As  tending,  by  necessary  force  and  immediate  conse- 
quence, to  limit  the  functions  of  the  Committee  on  Tersions — so 
far  as  the  English  version  is  concerned,  with  all  its  accessories — 
to  that  of  a  mere  mechanical  proof-reader,  and  to  limit  the  func- 
tion of  the  Society  itself  to  that  of  a  simple  printing  establish- 
ment, divesting  it  of  all  the  authority  and  right  which  it  hereto- 
fore has  claimed,  and  through  this  Board  of  Managers  has  more 
than  once  exercised,  of  perfecting  from  time  to  time,  by  a  more 
careful  editing,  and  the  correcting  of  errors  before  unnoticed,  the 


ITS     ATTEMPT    AT     REVISION.  453 

copies  of  that  inestimable  version  which  it  constantly  has  dis- 
tributed. 

They  protest  against  the  resolutions  : 

Sixthly,  As  having  been  the  fruit  of  the  action  of  a  commit- 
tee who,  through  inadvertence,  or  for  some  other  reason,  had 
sought  no  conference  with  the  Committee  on  Versions  ;  had  pre- 
sented to  them  no  specifications  of  the  charges  made  against 
their  work ;  and  had  neither  obtained  nor  requested  from  them 
any  authorized  statement  or  explanation,  in  answer  to  such 
charges,  of  the  principles  upon  which  that  work  had  been  con- 
ducted. 

They  protest  against  the  resolutions  : 

Seventhly,  As  casting,  if  not  directly  and  in  terms,  yet  by 
necessary  inference,  an  unmerited  reproach  on  the  Committee  on 
Versions,  whose  members  laboured  for  three  and  a  half  years, 
conscientiously  and  diligently,  at  the  request  of  the  Board,  to 
prepare  for  the  Society  the  most  perfect  edition  possible  of  the 
version  in  common  use  ;  and  whose  work,  at  first  unanimously 
accepted  by  the  Board  with  thanks  and  applause  ;  eulogized  in 
the  annual  reports  of  the  Society ;  received  by  all  the  purchasers 
of  its  Bibles  without  dissent ;  distributed  as  valuable  gifts  to 
theological  seminaries,  and  sent  with  letters  of  strong  commen- 
dation, by  order  of  the  Board,  to  eminent  citizens  in  our  own 
country,  and  even  to  sovereigns  in  Europe  and  elsewhere,  is  now, 
after  the  lapse  of  nearly  seven  years,  summarily  discarded. 

They  protest  against  the  resolutions  : 

Eighthly,  As  further  and  needlessly  increasing  this  reproach, 
by  giving  no  specifications  of  the  errors  assumed  to  have  been 
committed  by  the  Committee  on  Versions  in  their  work  of  revi- 
sion—  thus  practically  allowing  the  most  exaggerated  and  in- 
jurious impressions,  which  have  been  circulated  of  late  concern- 
ing them  and  their  work,  to  pass  uncontradicted,  and  seeming, 
in  the  absence  of  such  contradiction,  to  give  to  these  impressions 
the  implicit  sanction  of  the  Board. 

They  protest  against  the  resolutions  : 

Ninthly  and  Finally,  As  having  been  adopted  at  a  meeting 
of  the  Board  at  which  the  careful  arguments  and  historical  state- 


454  AMERICAN     BIBLE     SOCIETY: 

ments  prepared  in  behalf  of  the  several  reports  then  under  con- 
sideration,  which  had  before  been  prevented  from  being  pub- 
lished, were  not  allowed  to  be  read,  thus  preventing  a  large 
number  of  those  present  and  voting,  from  attaining  that  know- 
ledge of  the  facts  concerned  and  the  principles  involved,  which 
only  these  papers,  as  distinguished  from  individual  and  oral  dis- 
cussion, were  fitted  to  afford. 

On  the  grounds  thus  recited,  with  others  not  now  needful  to 
be  specified,  the  undersigned  respectfully  but  firmly  protest  against 
the  resolutions  thus  adopted  by  the  Board,  and  ask  that  this 
paper  may  be  received  and  entered  upon  the  minutes. 

Signed,  Edward  Robinson, 

Thomas  Cock, 
Thomas  E.  Vermilye, 
Samuel  H.  Turner, 
James  Floy. 

On  all  grouuds  except  the  sixth,  which  expresses'  certain 
views  with  reference  to  the  Special  Committee,  which,  as  its 
Chairman,  he  does  not  feel  called  on  to  express. 

R.  S.   Storrs,  Jr. 

The  undersigned,  formerly  a  member  of  the  Committee  on 
Versions,  was  satisfied  then,  and  is  now,  that  the  principle  at 
the  basis  of  that  Committee's  work  is  correct.  He  asks,  there- 
fore, to  append  his  name  to  the  Protest,  to  testify  his  opinion 
that  the  Committee  did  not  violate  the  Constitution,  in  letter  or 
in  spirit,  in  preparing  either  the  text  or  accessories  of  the  late 
standard  edition  of  the  Scriptures. 

John  McClintock. 

New  York,  February  4,  1858. 

This  Protest  was  received,  which  gives  it  a  place 
upon  the  files  of  the  Society ;  but,  after  considerable 
discussion,  it  was  decided  not  to  allow  it  a  place,  as  a 
protest,  upon  the  minutes. 


ITS    ATTEMPT     AT     REVISION.  455 

[The  Board  of  Managers,  in  the  judgment  of  many  friends  of 
the  Bible  cause,  committed  an  error  in  refusing  to  allow  the  Pro- 
test to  go  upon  the  records.  An  Answer  to  the  Protest  rnight 
have  been  prepared  immediately,  and  both  Protest  and  Answer 
boon  placed  together  among  the  archives  of  the  Society.  The 
following  Answer  is  put  forth  in  the  fear  of  God,  and  with  the 
love  of  truth.  —  C.  V.  R.] 

ANSWER     TO     THE     PROTEST. 

A  life  member  of  the  Board  of  Managers  of  the 
American  Bible  Society  feels  constrained  to  answer 
the  Protest,  issued  by  the  resigning  members  of  the 
Committee  on  Versions,  in  all  its  parts,  from  beginning 
to  end,  in  the  manner  and  form  following : 

First.  The  resolutions  of  the  Board  of  Managers, 
rescinding  the  action  of  the  Committee  on  Versions, 
assume  a  principle  which  is  implied  in  the  common 
usage  of  language  relating  to  the  subject ;  is  recog- 
nized by  the  British  standard  editions,  issued  by  royal 
authority;  and  although  unwittingly  impaired  to  some 
extent,  in  the  earliest  editions  of  the  American  Bible 
Society,1  was  reaffirmed  with  marked  emphasis  by  the 
Board  of  Managers  in  1830,  as  at  the  present  time, 
viz.,  that  the  accessories  to  the  English  version,  which 
the  American  Bible  Society  was  organized  to  distri- 
bute, are,  like  the  text  itself,  to  be  held  inviolate,  and 


1  See  Mr.  Lenox's  Note  to  Dr.  Boardman's  Report,  and  Dr. 
Brigham's  Second  Letter. 


456  AMERICAN     BIBLE     SOCIETY: 

cannot  be  changed  by  the  action  of  the  Society  under 
its  present  constitution. 

Secondly.  The  resolutions  of  the  Board  of  Man- 
agers give  validity  and  authority  to  the  condition  of 
the  text  and  accessories  of  the  English  Bible,  as 
found  "in  common  use  in  1816,"  when  the  American 
Bible  Society  was  organized;  the  previous  changes 
from  the  original  edition  of  1611,  which  were  com- 
paratively few  and  unimportant,  and  had  grown  up 
with  the  silent  acquiescence  of  the  British  authori- 
ties, being  part  of  the  edition  adopted  by  the  Consti- 
tution of  the  Society  for  circulation,  whilst  the  many, 
and  often  careless  and  radical  alterations,  suggested 
by  the  Committee  on  Versions,  without  regard  to  the 
limitations  of  1816,  have  been  rejected  and  set  aside, 
for  reasons  satisfactory  to  the  Board,  the  Society,  and 
the  Christian  public. 

Thirdly.  The  resolutions  attribute  no  infallibility 
to  erring  men,  whether  printers,  collators,  or  revisers 
of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  in  this  or  in  past  generations; 
but  simply  prefer  the  old  edition  as  it  is  (with  the 
correction,  by  collation,  of  palpable  errors  and  over- 
sights), to  the  proposed  emendations  of  the  Commit- 
tee, which  would  expose  the  Society  to  just  criticism 
and  censure,  and  a  great  and  injurious  limitation  of 
its  usefulness. 

Fourthly.  The  resolutions  of  the  Board  of  Mana- 
gers aim  at  restoring  and  perpetuating  the  headings 


ITS     ATTEMPT     AT     REVISION.  457 

and  contents  of  chapters,  prepared  under  the  autho- 
rity of  the  College  of  translators,1  by  whom  our  ex- 
cellent version  was  made ;  which  were  followed  with 
a  few  unintentional  variations,  in  the  earliest  editions 
of  the  American  Bible  Society,  and  were  authori- 
tatively introduced  into  all  its  editions  as  soon  as  the 
facts  became  known  to  the  Society ; 2  and  if  the  old 
headings  and  contents  contain  a  few  obsolete  and 
doubtful  terms  and  phrases,  they  are  far  less  excep- 
tionable, on  the  whole,  than  the  headings  of  the  Col- 
lator and  Committee,  some  of  which  were,  in  the 
judgment  of  the  Board,  in  direct  and  plain  contra- 
vention of  that  first  article  of  the  Constitution  of  the 
Society,  which  inhibits  it  from  publishing  "  note  or 
comment,"  and  which  restricts  it  to  "  the  version  now 
in  common  use." 

Fifthly.  The  function  of  the  Committee  on  Ver- 
sions, so  far  as  the  English  version  is  concerned,  has, 
by  necessary  force,  and  immediate  consequence,  and 
direct  authority,  been  generally  understood  to-  be  con- 
fined to  that  of  "mechanical  proof-reading,"  or,  in 
other  words,  to  collation;  and  the  true  function  of 
the  Society  itself,  as  regards  publication,  is  in  some 
respects  even  more  restricted  than  that  of  a  private 
printing  establishment,  which  is  not  bound  by  a  writ- 

1  See  first  paragraph  to  Dr.  Brigham's  Third  Letter. 

2  See  Dr.  Brigham's  Second  Letter. 

39 


158  AMERICAN     BIBLE     SOCIETY: 

ten  Constitution ;  and  the  Board  of  Managers  have 
always  acted  upon  the  principle  of  editing  the  editions 
carefully,  and  of  correcting  errors  by  collation,  but 
they  disown  the  principle  of  introducing  changes  into 
the  text  and  accessories,  such  as  are  openly  admitted 
by  the  Committee  on  Versions  to  have  been  in  no  pre- 
vious editions  whatever. 

Sixthly.  The  chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Nine 
was  a  member  of  the  Committee  on  Versions,  and 
competent  (as  appears  from  his  Minority  Report)  to 
oive  all  the  necessary  information  in  reference  to  a 
subject  thoroughly  discussed  and  well  understood; 
nevertheless,  when  the  committee  endeavoured  to 
gain  access  to  the  Society's  book,  in  which  the  Col- 
lator kept  an  account  of  all  the  variations  in  the 
copies  collated,  as  stated  in  the  published  Report  of 
1851,  they  were  informed  that  said  book  was  not  yet 
"ready"  [in  January,  1858,  after  a  lapse  of  seven 
years.1] 

Seventhly.  Never  were  Christian  gentlemen  treated 
personally  with  more  tender  and  universal  respect 
than  the  protesting  members  of  the  Committee  on 
Versions ;  and  no  reproach  was  implied  in  the  action 
of  the  Board,  beyond  that  of  an  official  disapprobation 
of  unconstitutional  emendations,  which  over-sensitive 

1  See  Report  on  the  recent  Collation,  p.  28,  where  the  mode 
of  preparing:  this  book  is  described.  Also  Dr.  Brig-ham's  Third 
Letter,  under  Division  IV. 


ITS     ATTEMPT     AT     REVISION.  459 

and  zealous  reformers  might  misinterpret  and  thus 
misname ;  and  the  mere  fact  that  their  work  of  "  three 
and  a  half  years,"  at  first  deemed  worthy  of  eulogy 
and  of  presentation  to  seminaries  and  sovereigns,  was 
after  a  more  thorough  examination  judged  to  be  in 
contravention  to  the  principles  of  the  American  Bible 
Society,  does  not  fairly  convey  unjustifiable  censure 
to  the  Committee  on  Versions,  especially  as  the  Board 
has  determined  to  retain  all  that  is  really  valuable, 
or  at  least  unexceptionable,  in  their  labours. 

Eighthly.  Specifications  of  the  errors  in  principle 
and  the  errors  in  practice,  committed  by  the  Com- 
mittee on  Versions  in  their  work  of  revision,  were 
abundantly  enumerated  at  all  the  meetings  of  the 
Board  of  Managers  at  which  the  subject  was  con- 
sidered ;  so  that  one  of  the  last  grounds  of  plausible 
protest  is  the  lack  of  information,  on  the  part  of 
the  protesters,  in  regard  to  the  points  complained  of; 
and  it  is  believed  that  the  public,  instead  of  having 
an  exaggerated  and  unjust  view  of  the  work  of  the 
revisers,  possess  a  very  imperfect  and  lenient  impres- 
sion of  the  nature,  and  extent  of  their  unconstitutional 
proceedings. 

Ninthly  and  finally.  The  Board  of  Managers  did 
not  deem  it  necessary  to  read  again,  at  an  adjourned 
meeting,  documents  previously  read,  well  understood, 
immensely  long,  and  only  called  for  by  those  who 
seemed  most  unwilling  to  come  to  a  vote ;  nor  did 


460  AMERICAN     BIBLE     SOCIETY: 

any  of  the  Managers  finally  vote  without  a  full 
knowledge  of  the  facts  and  principles  involved,  un- 
less the  protesters  have  more  information  about  some 
of  the  minority  than  is  claimed  by  those  on  the  oppo- 
site side. 

If  any  other  "grounds  of  protest"  should  be  here- 
after "  recited  "  —  which,  however,  it  is  believed  are 
"  not  needful  to  be  specified  "  —  they  will  receive  in 
due  time  a  full  and  candid  answer. 

All  which  is  respectfully  submitted. 

CORTLANDT  VAN    RENSSELAER. 


ITS     ATTEMPT     AT     REVISION.  .461 


ARTICLE    IV. 

ON    THE   ORIGIN   OF   THE   AMERICAN   BIBLE   SOCIETY. 


REPLY    TO    CAMEROY. 

All  Christian  men  seek  "the  truth,  the  whole 
truth,  and  nothing  but  the  truth."  So  far  as  I  may 
have  commited  errors  in  the  history  of  the  American 
Bible  Society,  or  may  hereafter  commit  them,  it  is 
my  sincere  desire  that  they  may  be  corrected.  I  do 
not  admit,  however,  that  my  revised  statement  of 
the  origin  of  the  American  Bible  Society  contains 
any  error ;  while  I  think  it  can  be  shown  that  my  old 
friend  "  Cameroy "  has  himself  fallen  into  material 
mistakes.     Let  the  truth  be  evolved  by  discussion. 

The  idea  of  a  national  Bible  Society  was  undoubt- 
edly in  many  minds  long  before  its  formation.  The 
British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society,  which  was  estab- 
lished in  1804,  suggested  to  the  Philadelphia  Bible 
Society  the  expediency  of  forming  a  similar  institu- 
tion in  the  United  States.  The  proposition  was  re- 
ceived by  some  favourably,  as  appears  from  the  advo- 

1  This  Letter  originally  appeared  in  the  New  York  Observer. 
It  is  generally  known  that  "Cameroy"  is  the  Rev.  James  W. 
McLean,  D.  D.,  the  Collator  of  the  new  edition  of  the  Bible. 

39* 


462  AMERICAN     BIBLE     SOCIETY: 

cacy  of  Mills  and  from  the  New  Jersey  movement ; 
but  it  met  with  opposition  from  the  Philadelphia  and 
New  York  Bible  Societies,  and  elsewhere.  There  can 
be  no  doubt  that  Samuel  J.  Mills  ardently  desired 
the  formation  of  a  national  Bible  Society ;  and  other 
prominent  and  enterprising  men  of  that  day  were  of 
a  similar  mind.  I  have  no  disposition  to  detract  a 
particle  from  the  merits  of  Mills,  whose  name  is  pre- 
cious among  the  people  of  God.  I  am  forward  with 
"  Cameroy,"  in  giving  to  that  truly  good  and  gifted 
man,  all  praises  for  his  thoughts,  and  efforts,  and 
prayers,  as  a  Bible  distributor,  and  as  an  advocate  for 
a  national  institution.  But  the  chief  question  is, 
who  originated  and  planned  the  measures  which  led 
to  the  final  success  of  the  scheme  ?  Hundreds  had 
thought  of  applying  steam  to  machinery,  and  machi- 
nery to  navigation;  but  Watt  and  Fulton  enjoy  the 
reputation  of  reducing  those  great  ideas  to  practical 
and  useful  results.  Without  at  all  disparaging  the 
efficiency  of  Mills  in  propagating  sentiments  favour- 
able to  the  organization  of  a  National  Bible  Society, 
I  believe  that  the  claims  of  Dr.  Boudinot,  as  its 
founder,  cannot  be  overthrown. 

Dr.  Spring,  whose  admirable  Life  of  Mills  has  fur- 
nished the  principal  facts  in  Cameroy's  communica- 
tion, summed  up  the  question  more  impartially  than 
Cameroy  has  done ;  and  I  beg  leave  to  add  a  sentence 
to  the  extracts,  quoted  by  Cameroy  from  that  book. 


ITS     ATTEMPT     AT     REVISION.  463 

Dr.  Spring,  speaking  of  the  interview  between  "  a  re- 
spectable member  of  the  General  Assembly"  and  Dr. 
Boudinot,  at  Burlington,  N.  J.,  after  the  rising  of  the 
Assembly  in  June,  1814,  says  : 

"  It  was  at  this  interview  the  foundation  of  this  lofty  edifice 
[the  American  Bible  Society]  was  laid,  and  if  it  has  inscribed 
on  one  side  the  endeared  and  memorable  name  of  Elias  Boudi- 
not, it  has  on  the  other  the  humble  inscription  of  Samuel  J. 
Mills,"  p.  97. 

The  terms  "  originated,"  "  founded,"  etc.,  are  used 
somewhat  indefinitely.  Neither  Mills  nor  Boudinot 
"originated"  the  idea  of  a  National  Bible  Society. 
All  admit  that  its  formation  was  first  proposed  by  the 
British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society.  Mills  took  up 
the  idea  with  great  earnestness,  and  advocated  it  with 
all  his  powers ;  but  Boudinot  was  the  man  who  ori- 
ginated and  executed,  under  God,  the  measures  which' 
resulted  in  its  formation.  Let  us  examine  the  facts, 
and  see  if  they  do  not  warrant  this  conclusion. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Managers,  held  on 
August  30th,  1814,  at  Burlington,  in  Dr.  Boudinot's 
house,  resolutions  were  offered  by  Dr.  Boudinot,  which 
had  in  view  the  formation  of  a  National  Bible  Soci- 
ety. On  the  following  day,  Dr.  Boudinot,  chairman 
of  the  committee  on  this  subject,  brought  in  a  report, 
which  was  adopted  by  the  Managers,  and  also  adopted 
by  the  State  Society,  which  met  in  Burlington  on  the 
same  day,  August  31st.     The  great  object  in  view 


464  AMERICAN     BIBLE     SOCIETY: 

was  to  form  a  national  union  of  Bible  Societies,  "  for 
the  purpose  of  disseminating  the  Scriptures  of  the 
Old  and  New  Testament,  according  to  the  present 
approved  version,  without  note  or  comment,  in  places 
beyond  the  limits  of  the  United  States,  or  within 
them,  where  the  State  Societies,  or  any  one  of  them, 
shall  be  unable,  from  any  circumstance  whatever,  to 
supply  their  wants,  or  where  there  shall  not  be  a 
Bible  Society  established  in  the  State."  The  details 
of  this  plan  might  have  been  changed,  certainly  with 
the  approbation  of  the  local  Societies,  by  the  Conven- 
tion, when  met.  The  object  was,  in  general,  the 
same  that  is  contemplated  by  the  existing  American 
Bible  Society. 

Dr.  Boudinot  immediately  issued  circulars  to  all 
the  Bible  Societies  in  the  United  States,  then  few  in 
number.  The  subject  met  with  favour  for  a  time ; 
but  the  Philadelphia  Bible  Society,  the  oldest  of  all, 
became  strongly  opposed  to  the  contemplated  move- 
ment for  a  general  Society,  and  sent  a  circular  in 
opposition  to  the  one  issued  by  Dr.  Boudinot.  Dr. 
Boudinot  states,  in  his  report  of  3d  of  April,  1815, 
that  he  sent  answers  to  the  Philadelphia  circular. 
"  but  in  most  instances  they  arrived  too  late,  the 
Societies  having  taken  their  measures  immediately 
on  receipt  of  the  address  from  Philadelphia.  This 
has  prevented  the  success  of  the  whole  measure, 
which  at  first  seemed  to  give  universal  satisfaction." 


ITS    ATTEMPT    AT    REVISION.  4 G5 

The  good  man,  however,  was  not  discouraged,  al- 
though he  had  much  to  contend  with.  The  Phila- 
delphia Society,  with  Bishop  White  and  Robert  Ral- 
ston at  its  head,  was  opposed  to  a  national  institution 
under  any  form.  The  Philadelphia  plan  was  simply 
to  secure  annually  the  publication  of  a  report,  giving 
an  account  of  the  operations  of  all  the  Bible  Socie- 
ties in  the  country.  The  Society  in  New  York  also 
declined  to  take  any  measures  to  send  delegates  to 
the  first  general  meeting,  which  was  to  have  been 
held  in  Philadelphia  during  the  meeting  of  the  As- 
sembly in  May,  1815. 

In  regard  to  this  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  New 

York  Bible  Society,  Cameroy  omits  to  state,  that  it 

was  owing  to  objections  to  any  General  Society,  as 

well  as  to  the  objections  to  the  plan  proposed.     The 

Report  of  the  Board  of  Managers,  of  the  date  of  Nov. 

29th,  1814, says: 

"  This  Board,  however,  were  not  able  to  discover  any  advan- 
tages likely  to  result  from  the  contemplated  institution,  which 
could  not  be  compassed  by  a  more  simple,  expeditious,  and  less 
expensive  process,  namely,  by  correspondence."  The  Report 
then  specifies  objections  arising  from  [the  expense  of  delegates, 
consumption  of  time,  impracticability  of  securing  their  attend- 
ance, and  concludes  by  declaring]  "  the  inexpediency  of  delegating 
in  this  manner  the  control  of  their  respective  funds,  under  any 
regulations  that  might  be  devised,  to  secure  the  ends  proposed." 
Pp.  11,  12. 

The  New  York  Bible  Society,  therefore,  was,  at  this 

time,  not  only  opposed  to  Dr.  Boudinot's  plan,  but  to 

2e 


4G6  AMERICAN     BIBLE     SOCIETY: 

any  plan  whatever  for  a  General  Society ;  preferring 
to  do  the  work  by  "correspondence,"  and  unwilling 
to  trust  its  funds  out  of  its  own  hands.  The  Board 
of  Managers  of  the  Society,  where  "  the  influence  of 
Mills  was  more  particularly  felt/'  state  that  they 
were  "  unanimous  "  in  their  conclusion. 

Such  an  amount  of  opposition  to  a  General  Bible 
Union  would  have  caused  many  a  man,  less  reso- 
lute than  Dr.  Boudinot,  to  abandon  the  project  in 
despair.  But  Dr.  Boudinot  felt  that  he  was  commis- 
sioned to  do  a  great  work,  in  his  Divine  Master's 
name.  At  the  meeting  of  the  New  Jersey  Bible 
Society,  on  August  30th,  1815,  he  made  "  a  very  long 
report "  on  his  favourite  subject,  which  was  referred 
to  the  Board  of  Managers,  and  by  them  referred  to  a 
committee,  to  report  at  their  next  meeting  in  April, 
1816.  But  the  meeting  in  April  was  too  remote  for 
a  man  of  his  energy.  He  continued  to  correspond 
on  the  subject,  with  his  large  heart  bent  on  accom- 
plishing its  purpose.  Fortunately,  about  this  time, 
the  New  York  Bible  Society,  under  the  urgent  repre- 
sentations of  Mills,  began  to  reconsider  their  previous 
position  of  opposition  to  a  general  Bible  Union  of  any 
hoH.  Thus  it  was  that  the  Society  '  where  Mills's 
influence  was  more  particularly  felt,'  began,  more  than 
a  year  after  the  New  Jersey  movement,  to  think  favour- 
ably of  a  '  General  Bible  Institution  for  the  United 
States,'  as  they  expressed  it. 


ITS    ATTEMPT    AT     REVISION.  46V 

In  Cameroy' s  attempt  to  elevate  Mills  above  Bou- 
dinot,  he  deems  it  necessary  to  maintain  that  the  dif- 
ference between  the  Burlington  plan  and  the  one  ulti- 
mately adopted,  nullified  the  claim  of  Dr.  Boudinot 
to  be  considered  the  founder  of  the  American  Bible 
Society.  He  is  unwilling  to  look  upon  all  the  move- 
ments in  behalf  of  a  national  institution,  as  a  suc- 
cession of  the  same  evangelistic  efforts.  As  Cameroy 
and  myself  do  not  agree  upon  Dr.  Boudinot's  claim  to 
be  regarded  the  founder  of  the  American  Bible 
Society,  I  propose  to  bring  up,  for  examination,  wit- 
nesses of  the  olden  time ;  and,  inasmuch  as  Cameroy 
loves  to  consult  the  original,  I  will  quote  from  official 
documents.  I  will  begin  with  the  New  York  Bible 
Society,  where,  according  to  Cameroy,  "  Mills's  influ- 
ence was  more  particularly  felt."  This  Society,  in 
their  report  of  December,  1815,  state,  they  judged  it 
expedient  to  call  a  convention,  "  for  the  purpose  of 
considering  whether  such  co-operation  may  be  effected 
in  a  better  manner  than  by  the  correspondence  of  the 
different  Societies,  as  now  established ;  and  if  so,  that 
the  delegates  prepare  a  draft  of  a  plan  of  such  co- 
operation, to  be  submitted  to  the  different  Societies 
for  their  decision."  Here,  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
call  for  the  Convention  specified  no  particular  pla n, 
but  left  the  details  to  the  decision  of  a  Convention. 
And  in  order  to  show  the  reader  that  this  movement 
was  judged  to  be  only  a  continuation  of  measures  to 


468  AMERICAN     BIBLE    SOCIETY: 

secure  Dr.  Boudinot's  object,  I  ask  attention  to  the 
following  sentences  in  the  report,  immediately  suc- 
ceeding the  sentence  which  Cameroy  quoted  in  part. 
Why  he  did  not  quote  the  whole,  is  for  him  to  say. 

"  This  vote  (in  favour  of  a  Convention)  has  been,  by  order  of 
the  Board,  communicated  to  the  President  of  the  New  Jersey 
Bible  Society  [Dr.  Boudinot],  with  whom  the  subject  originated, 
and  by  whom  it  has  hitherto  been  prosecuted,  as  the  most  suit- 
able person  to  call  such  a  Convention,  at  the  time  and  in  the 
manner  which  he  may  think  fit." — Report,  N.  Y.  Bib.  Soc.  1815, 
p.  11. 

Cameroy  will  see,  from  the  whole  paragraph,  that 
the  New  York  Bible  Society  had  no  hesitation  in 
declaring  that  the  subject  of  forming  a  National 
Society  "originated"  with  Dr.  Boudinot  (the  very 
word  I  used),  "  by  whom  it  has  been  hitherto  prose- 
cuted," clearly  implying  that  he  was  the  chief  agent 
in  forming  the  Society.  As  no  one  denies  that  the 
first  measures  in  reference  to  a  general  organization 
were  taken  in  the  "  old  Quaker  City  "  of  Burlington, 
I  claim  that  the  New  York  Bible  Society  fully  indorses 
my  three  propositions,  correctly  stated  by  Cameroy. 
The  testimony  of  the  times,  and  especially  of  that 
"  particular  "  Society,  is  better  than  any  of  Cameroy's 
reasoning.  The  men  who  drew  up  that  report,  knew 
perfectly  well  that  Mills  was  an  active  advocate  of  a 
National  Bible  Society;  but  they  also  well  knew  that 
the  credit  of  originating  and  prosecuting  measures 


ITS    ATTEMPT    AT    REVISION.  469 

for   the   formation   of  the  Society  belonged   to  Dr. 
Boudinot. 

I  propose,  in  the  next  place,  to  "  collate  "  my  state- 
ment respecting  the  agency  of  Dr.  Boudinot,  and  of 
the  New  Jersey  Bible  Society,  in  this  matter,  with 
the  statement  of  the  first  Report  of  the  American 
Bible  Society.  On  the  first  page  of  the  first  Report, 
Cameroy  will  find  these  words  : 

"  The  Managers  feel  it  their  duty  to  state  that  the  plan  of  such 
an  institution  was  first  suggested  by  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible 
Society,  to  the  Philadelphia  Bible  Society.  No  measures,  how- 
ever, were  adopted  to  attempt  its  execution,  until  the  Neiv  Jersey 
Bible  Society  undertook  the  experiment.  Although  baffled  in 
their  first  effort,  their  worthy  President  [Dr.  Boudinot],  acting 
in  conformity  to  their  wishes,  persevered  in  the  good  work,  and 
finally  succeeded.  Called  by  the  unanimous  voice  of  the  Man- 
agers to  the  Presidency  of  the  National  Institution,  he  is,  in  the 
decline  of  life,  enjoying  that  pleasure  which  springs  from  his 
work  of  faith  and  labour  of  love,  thus  far  owned  of  God,  and 
promising  the  highest  and  most  lasting  blessings  to  this  Western 
Continent."  — First  An.  Report,  1817,  pp.  9  and  10. 

Cameroy  will  here  find  no  attempt  to  break  up  the 
connection  between  the  original  "  Burlington  action," 
and  the  final  action  in  New  York.  The  Report  of 
the  American  Bible  Society  cordially  admits  that  Dr. 
Boudinot  devised  the  original  measures  for  the  execu- 
tion of  the  plan,  and  persevered  until  he  finally  suc- 
ceeded. 

Cameroy  will  perceive,  in  the  statements  of  these 
two  official  Reports,  something  more  substantial  than 
40 


470  AMERICAN    BIBLE     SOCIETY: 

treacherous  tradition ;  and  I  think  he  will  also  wonder 
how  he  came  to  write  with  so  much  confidence  that 
"  the  records  of  the  past  are  against "  my  three  several 
positions.     The  records  confirm  every  one  of  them. 

Cameroy's  communication  leaves  the  impression 
upon  the  mind  of  the  reader,  that  the  ground  of  the 
opposition  from  the  Philadelphia  Bible  Society  to  the 
first  proposition  to  form  a  general  association,  was  the 
peculiar  nature  of  the  original  plan.  But  this  is 
another  of  his  mistakes.  The  Philadelphia  Bible 
Society  opposed  the  second  Convention,  held  in  New 
York,  in  1816,  for  the  same  reasons  that  had  been 
urged  in  1814.  The  Report  for  1816,  states  on  this 
subject  as  follows : 

"To  the  proposition,  recently  revived  by  the  Bible  Societies 
of  New  Jersey  and  New  York,  for  establishing  a  general  So- 
ciety for  the  United  States,  they  have  attended  with  those  dis- 
positions which  the  magnitude  of  the  scheme  and  the  respecta- 
bility of  its  origin  required.  Without  swelling  their  report  by 
entering  into  a  detail  of  the  reasons  of  the  managers  for  dissent- 
ing from  this  plan,  which  were  communicated  in  a  printed  cir- 
cular to  their  sister  societies  about  the  close  of  the  year  1814, 
they  are  compelled  to  acknowledge  their  unanimous  adherence  to 
the  objections  then  urged,  as  conclusive  in  their  minds  against  its 
adoption." 

It  thus  appears  that  both  the  friends  and  the  op- 
ponents of  the  General  Society  of  that  day,  admitted 
the  identity  of  the  objects  and  aims  of  the  two  Con- 
ventions. It  has  been  left  to  Cameroy  to  attempt  a 
"revision"  of  the  original  testimony  of  the  founders 


ITS    ATTEMPT     AT    REVISION.  471 

of  the  American  Bible  Society,  and  in  such  a  way  as 
to  "  affect  the  sense  "  of  the  records  —  not  willingly, 
but  unconsciously.  The  error  is  of  the  head,  and  not 
of  the  heart  —  like  mine  about  tradition. 

Finally,  let  us  hear  Dr.  Boudinot  himself,  the  aged 
patriarch,  the  founder  of  the  Institution,  and  its  first 
President.  In  the  Appendix  to  the  first  Annual 
Report  of  the  American  Bible  Society,  is  a  letter  from 
Dr.  Boudinot,  which  shows  that  the  Burlington  action 
had  never  been  in  any  danger  of  dying  out.  Having 
drawn  up  all  the  early  papers  on  the  subject,  twice 
issued  circulars  to  all  the  local  Societies,  published 
answers  to  objections,  made  official  reports,  and  car- 
ried on  an  extensive  correspondence,  the  following- 
extract  shows  the  spirit  of  the  man,  whose  hand  was 
incessantly  engaged  in  the  great  work  : 

"Although  there  have  been  great  temptations  to  despair  of 
final  success,  yet  have  I  been  so  strengthened  with  the  assurance 
that  it  was  a  work  of  God,  and  that  he  would  show  his  power 
and  glory  in  bringing  it  to  maturity  in  his  own  time,  and  by  his 
own  means,  that  I  had  determined,  in  case  of  failure  in  the  last 
attempt,  to  commence  the  great  business  at  all  events,  with  the 
aid  of  a  few  laymen,  who  had  testified  their  willingness  to  go 
all  lengths  with  me." 

In  this,  extract  Cameroy  may  see  a  man,  whose 
great  singleness  and  purity  of  purpose  was  mingled 
with  indomitable  resolution  and  perseverance  — just 
such  a  man  as  Providence  raised  up  to  "  originate  " 
and  "  prosecute "  the  measures,  which,  in  the  midst 


472  AMERICAN     BIBLE     SOCIETY: 

of  much  opposition,  resulted  in  the  formation  of  the 
American  Bible  Society. 

Dr.  Boudinot  was  prevented  by  severe  sickness, 
from  attending  the  Convention  that  met  in  New  York, 
in  1816.  In  his  absence,  his  friend  and  fellow-la- 
bourer, Joshua  M.Wallace,  Esq.,  of  Burlington,  N.  J., 
was  elected  President  of  the  Convention.  If  the 
delight  on  the  countenance  of  the  youthful  Mills,  at 
that  Convention,  was  "worthy  of  the  pencil  of  a 
West,  or  a  Raphael,"  what  painter  could  delineate 
the  hope  and  faith  and  peace  that  illuminated  the 
mind  and  features  of  the  venerable  patriarch  in  his 
sick  chamber,  praying  for  the  consummation  of  the 
last  efforts  of  his  long  life,  and  waiting  for  the  conso- 
lation of  Israel? 

The  truth  is  that  Mills,  as  Cameroy  well  expresses 
it  in  one  of  his  sentences,  was  a  "pioneer;"  but  Bou- 
dinot was  the  founder  of  the  American  Bible  Society. 
Mills  was  absent  on  missionary  tours  at  the  West  and 
Southwest,  during  almost  the  whole  of  the  years 
1812,  1813,  1814,  and  1815,  there  having  been  a 
short  interval  of  time  between  his  two  excursions. 
Dr.  Boudinot  was  in  constant  intercourse  with  the 
chief  men  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia;  corres- 
ponded with  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society ; 
and,  as  President  of  the  New  Jersey  Bible  Society, 
from  its  foundation  in  1809,  he  was  familiar  with  all 
the  practical  bearings  of  Bible  distribution,  and  well 


ITS    ATTEMPT    AT     REVISION.  473 

knew  the  difficulties  resulting  from  a  want  of  union 
in  these  efforts.  It  is  unreasonable  to  suppose  that 
such  a  man  never  thought  of  the  advantages  of  a 
National  Society,  prior  to  the  interview  at  Burlington, 
in  1814.  The  time  had  at  length  come  for  action. 
That  interview  may  have  assisted  in  stimulating  the 
enterprising  mind  of  Dr.  Boudinot  to  commence  the 
work  of  organizing ;  but  whatever  may  have  been  its 
influence,  that  interview  only  establishes  the  connec- 
tion of  the  name  of  Boudinot  with  the  foundation  of 
the  American  Bible  Society. 

Whilst  amicably  discussing  the  comparative  merits 
of  Boudinot  and  Mills,  in  reference  to  the  point  at 
issue,  let  us  gratefully  acknowledge  that  both  of  these 
excellent  men  were  servants  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
raised  up  to  do  a  great  work,  in  their  respective 
spheres,  in  their  day  and  generation ;  and  that  what- 
ever usefulness  crowned  the  labours  of  their  lives,  all 
its  praise  is  due  to  God  alone. 

C.  Van  Rensselaer. 


40* 


474  AMERICAN    BIBLE     SOCIETY: 


NOTE. 

Since  writing  the  foregoing  reply  to  "  Cameroy,"  I  have  suc- 
ceeded in  finding  Dr.  Boudinot's  Circular  Letter,  inviting  the 
different  Bible  Societies  to  send  Delegates  to  a  Convention  in 
New  York,  in  the  year  1816,  for  the  purpose  of  forming  a  Na- 
tional Institution.  This  Circular  throws  some  light  upon  the 
points  agitated  by  "  Cameroy." 

CIRCULAR. 

To  the  Several  Bible  Societies  in  the  United   States 
of  America. 

Brethren  :  It  is  with  peculiar  pleasure  that  I  once  more  ad- 
dress you,  on  the  interesting  subject  of  the  extension  of  the  Re- 
deemer's kingdom,  by  disseminating  his  Gospel  wherever  it  is  not 
known.  After  serious  reflection,  I  determined  again  to  solicit 
a  meeting  of  Delegates  from  such  Bible  Societies  as  shall  cor- 
dially join  in  this  measure.  Having  laid  this  proposal  before  the 
Bible  Society  of  New  York,  it  took  a  more  enlarged  view  of  the 
plan,  and  adopted  the  following  resolutions  : 

"Resolved,  1st.  That  it  is  highly  desirable  to  obtain,  upon  as 
large  a  scale  as  possible,  a  co-operation  of  the  efforts  of  the 
Christian  community  throughout  the  United  States,  for  the  effi- 
cient distribution  of  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

"2d.  That,  as  a  means  for  the  attainment  of  this  end,  it  will 
be  expedient  to  have  a  Convention  of  Delegates  from  such  Bible 
Societies,  as  shall  be  disposed  to  concur  in  this  measure,  to  meet 
at ,  on  the day  of next,  for  the  purpose  of  con- 
sidering whether  such  a  co-operation  may  be  effected  in  a  better 
manner  than  by  the  correspondence  of  the  different  Societies,  as 
now  established ;  and  if  so,  that  they  prepare  the  draft  of  a  plan 
for  such  co-operation,  to  be  submitted  to  the  different  Societies 
for  their  decisions. 


ITS     ATTEMPT     AT     REVISION.  475 

"  3d.  That  the  Secretary  transmit  the  above  resolutions  to  the 
President  of  the  New  Jersey  Bible  Society,  as  expressive  of  the 
opinion  of  this  Board,  on  the  measures  therein  contained,  and  at 
the  same  time  signifying  the  wish  of  this  Board  that  he  would 
exercise  his  own  discretion  in  bringing  the  subject  before  the 
public." 

In  pursuance  of  the  foregoing  resolutions,  requesting  me  to 
designate  the  time  and  place  at  which  the  proposed  meeting  of 
Delegates  from  the  different  Bible  Societies  in  the  United  States 
shall  take  place  ;  after  mature  deliberation,  and  consulting  judi- 
cious friends  on  this  important  subject,  I  am  decidedly  of  the 
opinion  that  the  most  suitable  place  for  the  proposed  meeting  is 
in  the  city  of  New  York,  and  the  most  convenient  time,  the 
second  Wednesday  of  May  next ;  and  I  do  appoint  and  recom- 
mend the  said  meeting  to  be  held  at  that  time  and  place.  Should 
it  please  a  merciful  God  to  raise  me  from  the  bed  of  sickness  to 
which  I  am  now  confined,  it  will  afford  me  the  highest  satisfac- 
tion to  attend  at  that  time,  and  contribute  all  in  my  power  toward 
the  establishment  and  organization  of  a  Society  which,  with  the 
blessing  of  God,  I  have  not  the  least  doubt  will  in  time,  in  point 
of  usefulness,  be  second  only  to  the  parent  institution  (the  British 
and  Foreign  Bible  Society),  shed  an  unfading  lustre  on  our  Chris- 
tian community,  and  prove  a  blessing  to  our  country  and  the 

world. 

ELIAS  BOUDINOT, 

President  of  the  N  J.  Bible  Society. 

Burlington,  Jan.  17th,  1816. 

This  circular  of  Dr.  Boudinot  establishes  the  following  posi- 
tions: 

1.  After  the  failure  of  Dr.  Boudinot's  first  effort  to  obtain  a 
meeting  of  Delegates  to  form  a  National  Society,  he  had  made 
up  his  mind  to  call  another  meeting  for  that  purpose,  on  his  own 
responsibility. 

2.  Dr.  Boudinot  himself  brought  the  subject  before  the  New 
York  Bible  Society,  the  second  time  ;  and  the  resolutions  of  this 


476  AMERICAN     BIBLE     SOCIETY. 

Society  in  favour  of  a  Convention  were  a  response  to  Dr.  Bou- 
dinot's  suggestions. 

3.  After  an  interval  of  two  years,  the  New  York  Bible  Society 
was  led  to  believe  that  "a  more  enlarged"  plan  of  conducting 
operations  ought  to  be  adopted,  than  that  of  mere  "correspond- 
ence "  between  the  different  Societies,  which  was  their  original 
and  crude  plan,  when  Dr.  Boudinot  first  called  their  attention,  in 
1814,  to  the  importance  of  general  co-operation  on  a  national 
scale. 

4.  No  particular  measures  were  proposed  by  the  New  York 
Society  in  their  resolutions  uniting  in  a  call  for  another  Conven- 
tion, but  the  matter  was  left  entirely  open  for  the  action  of  the 
Convention  itself.  The  resolutions  and  the  Circular  aimed  simply 
at  securing  co-operation  in  a  better  form  than  the  existing  one, 
of  correspondence. 

5.  All  the  official  documents  of  the  day,  as  they  come  to  light, 
prove  that  Dr.  Boudinot,  more  than  any  other  man,  is  entitled 
to  the  appellation  of  Founder  of  the  American  Bible  Society. 

C.  V.  R. 


FUNERAL    SERMON 


UPON      THE 


DEATH  OF   BISHOP   DOANE. 


(477 


Providence  often  summons  o  person  to  the  performance  of  duties, 

wllloh    WOuld   otherwise    nnuv    mil  urn  II  v    have   devolved    upon    others. 

i  Ivlnp  In  Burlington,  by  the  side  of  Bishop  Doane,  I  felt  called  upon 
to  notloe  his  death  My  own  stand-poinl  varies  from  that  of  some 
others      I   shall   have   qo  personal  controversy  with  any  who  differ 

lYoiW    mi'       t  iod    is   the   JudgQ   of  all. 

C.V    K 


(478 


DISCOURSE.1 


"  Let  us  fall  now  into  the  hand  of  the  Lord  ;  for  his  mercies  are  great: 
but  let  me  not  fall  into  the  hand  of  man."  —  2  Sam.  24 :  14. 


In  the  choice  of  evils,  which  God  offered  to  David, 
the  king  wisely  preferred  years  of  pestilence  or  famine 
from  the  hand  of  the  Lord,  to  months  of  adversity  in 
the  midst  of  his  enemies. 

Every  man  has  his  trials,  and  especially  every 
great  man;  and  the  most  severe  are  those  which 
come  from  his  fellow-creatures.  To  fall  into  mans 
hands  is  the  worst  of  human  calamities.  It  was  ,so 
in  David's  day ;  it  is  so  now. 

I.  Let  us  first  consider  some  of  the  causes  of  man's 
bitterness  against  his  fellow-man,  or  more  specifically, 
some  of  the  reasons  of  THE  FEARFUL  HARSHNESS  of 
human  judgments.  In  discussing  this  subject,  it  is 
by  no  means  implied  that  all  opinions,  condemn  in- 
the  conduct  of  our  fellow-men,  are  wrong  or  unjust ; 


1  Preached   in   the   Presbyterian    Church,  Burlington,   X    J 
May  1st,  1859. 

(47. 


480  SERMON     UPON     THE 

but  simply  that  there  is  a  strong  tendency  to  severe 
judgments,  even  when  evil  may  have  been  com- 
mitted ;  and  that  this  tendency  may  be  explained  in 
various  ways. 

1.  Human  depravity  accounts,  in  the  general,  for 
every  offence  against  God  or  our  neighbours,  in 
thought,  or  word,  or  deed ;  for  all  the  wars  and  ru- 
mours of  wars,  whether  on  the  scale  of  nations,  or 
of  families,  or  of  individuals.  It  is  sin,  perverting 
the  understanding  and  hardening  the  heart,  that 
brings  into  society,  enmity,  and  all  uncbaritableness. 

The  monuments  of  man's  ill-will  to  his  fellow-men 
are  reared  all  along  the  highroad  of  his  depravity. 

2.  Self-righteousness  has  much  to  do  with  our  harsh 
judgments  against  others.  We  unconsciously  gratify 
our  love  of  self  in  condemning  others  for  sins,  of 
which  we  ourselves  may  not  be  guilty.  Our  testi- 
mony against  others  becomes  a  pleasant  mode  of  vin- 
dicating our  own  innocence.  Did  you  never  see  the 
self-righteous  schoolboy  magnify  the  infirmities  of  his 
companion,  in  the  vanity  of  bringing  into  notice  his 
own  merit  ?  Thus  it  is  with  self-righteous  detractors, 
everywhere,  and  at  nil  times. 

3.  Personal  prejudices  go  far  to  embitter  our  views 
of  the  actions  and  conduct  of  others.  Some  men  are 
so  constituted,  with  strong  elements  of  character,  as 
easily  to  make  friends  or  enemies.     Harsh  opinions 


DEATH     OF     BISHOP     D  0  A  X  E .  1 S 1 

will,  of  course,  be  formed  of  them,  by  those  whose 
prejudices  have  been  aroused. 

4.  Sectarian  animosities  are  another  source  of  se- 
vere judgment.  Powerfully,  though  often  uncon- 
sciously, do  these  denominational  alienations  affect 
one  church  in  its  estimate  of  the  great  men  of  an- 
other; and  this  infirmity  may  prevail  in  one's  own 
church  as  well  as  in  other  churches. 

5.  Jealous?/  of  a  higher  position  than  our  own, 
must  not  be  omitted  in  the  catalogue  of  erring  causes. 
It  is  a  prolific  source  of  differences,  both  in  public 
and  private  life. 

6.  Injury  to  our  temporal  interests  often  violently 
affects  our  opinion  of  our  neighbour.  The  love  of 
money  is  the  root  of  all  evil.  A  failure  to  return 
dollar  for  dollar  engenders  a  distrust  and  enmity  that 
may  pursue  its  victim  for  life. 

These  are  some  of  the  causes  that  render  it  fearful 
to  fall  into  the  hands  of  man.  Our  characters,  our 
motives,  and  our  conduct  find  little  charity  among 
our  fellows.  I  again  distinctly  admit  that  there  is 
too  often  just  ground  of  condemnation,  and  that 
wrong  actions  always  deserve  rebuke.  These  remarks 
are  far  from  being  intended  to  palliate  crime,  or  to 
extenuate  the  guilt  of  human  wickedness.  Their 
object  is  to  expose  the  tendency  to  exaggeration  in 
evil  reports,  and  to  explain  the  reasons  which  often 
sway  the  mind  in  its  too  severe  scrutiny  of  the  con- 
41  2f 


482  SERMON    UPON    THE 

duct  of  others;  and  even  when  men  have  undeniably 
committed  grievous  sins,  the  words  of  David  are  only 
the  more  true:  "Let  us  fall  into  the  hand  of  the 
Lord,  for  his  mercies  are  great ;  but  let  me  not  fall 
into  the  hand  of  man  ! " 

II.  The  greatness  of  God's  mercies  are  a  ground 
of  confidence,  to  all  who  rightly  put  their  trust  in 
them. 

1.  God's  mercies  are  great  in  the  general  manifesta- 
tions of  Ids  Providence.  He  preserves  and  blesses  all. 
He  causes  his  sun  "  to  rise  on  the  evil  and  the  good, 
and  sends  his  rain  on  the  just  and  the  unjust."  "  He 
has  not  left  himself  without  a  witness,  in  that  he 
gives  us  fruitful  seasons,  and  fills  our  hearts  with  food 
and  gladness."  Yea,  men  who  violate  the  Sabbath, 
and  take  the  name  of  God  in  vain,  are  permitted  to 
reap  abundant  harvests.  Mercy  adorns  Providence, 
as  the  buds  and  blossoms  beautify  our  trees  in  spring. 
All  mankind,  however  wicked,  are  invited  to  enter- 
tain thoughts  of  hope  and  God.  In  every  individual's 
life,  there  are  multitudes  of  mercies  (so  the  text). 
Whilst  this  is  no'ground  of  presumption,  it  is  of  trust, 
—certainly  of  the  preference  of  David  :  "  Let  me  fall 
into  the  hand  of  the  Lord,  for  his  mercies  are  great." 

2.  The  plan  of  salvation  shows  God's  great  mercy. 
"  God  so  loved  the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only  be- 
gotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him  should 
not  perish,  but  have  eternal  life."     Jesus  listens  to 


DEATH     OF    BISHOP    DOANE.  483 

the  cry  of  the  penitent,  and  invites  the  backslider' f 
return.  He  is  the  tender-hearted  Friend  of  publicans 
and  sinners.  His  precious  blood  can  wash  out  guilt 
of  deepest  hue.  He  is  more  ready  to  forgive  than 
the  faint-hearted  suppliant  to  ask.  There  is  match- 
less loVe  in  the  Person  of  the  Son  of  Man.  Behold 
him  pleading  with  the  weary  and  heavy  laden,  for- 
giving sins,  healing  diseases,  blessing  the  sorrowing, 
saving  the  lost.  Oh,  Saviour,  we  can  come  to  thee ! 
Thy  birth,  and  life,  and  crucifixion,  and  resurrection, 
and  ascension,  declare  the  love,  and  condescension, 
and  majesty  of  a  God.  Into  thy  hands  we  can  com- 
mend our  all,  living  or  dying ;  but  oh,  "  let  us  not 
fall  into  the  hand  of  man  ! " 

3.  The  distribution  of  God's  grace  displays  his 
manifold  mercy.  He  apportions  his  grace  to  all 
classes  of  men,  in  every  continent  and  nation,  bar- 
barian, Scythian,  Greek,  or  Jew ;  and  to  men  of  all 
classes,  high  or  low,  rich  or  poor,  bond  or  free,  moral 
or  immoral.  "The  chief  of  sinners"  finds  his  place; 
and  "  the  least  of  all  saints "  receives  his  share. 
The  spirit  also  moves  on  mighty  masses  of  men,  who 
yet  resist  His  call.  God's  grace  is  communicated 
on  a  vast  scale,  and  it  is  of  the  highest  spiritual 
quality. 

In  the  presence  of  such  manifestations  of  Divine 
mercy,  in  the  kingdom  of  providence  and  grace,  a 
poor  sinner  may  put  his  trust  in  the  Lord  when  no 


484  SERMON     UPON     T  II  E 

charity  is  offered  from  num.  If  really  innocent,  the 
judgment  of  the  Omniscient  acquits  at  Bis  bar  tin- 
person  accused  of  criminal  offences.  If,  on  the  con- 
trary, the  accused  person  is  guilty,  it  is  safer  to  fall 
into  the  hand  of  the  Lord,  whose  men  its  are  .meat. 
ihan  into  the  hand  of  man;  not  simply  on  tl, 
ral  grounds  specified,  but  lor  reasons  such  as  the  fol- 
lowing,  in  particular : 

In  the  first  place, God  sees  all.  tin  <.r/>  nuating  >•',,-,  n in- 
stances of  the  guilty  action,  whilst  man  magnifies 
every  particular  of  infirmity,  and  perverts  every  ru- 
mour with  a  thousand  tongues.  In  the  second  place. 
God  distinguishes  between  acts,  and  rj,,i racU ,-.  A  Chris- 
tian may  backslide  into  conduct  which  brings  reproach 
upon  the  Church,  as  David,  and  Solomon,  and  Peter 
did;  and  yet  God  can  discern  the  true,  predominant 
religious  character  of  the  offender,  during  the  interval 
of  his  temporary  apostacy.  The  judgment  of  man  on 
the  other  hand  commonly  overlooks  this  essential  dis- 
tinction, and  confounds  occasional  backsliding  with 
habitual  acts  of  wickedness.  In  the  third  place, 
God  is  acquainted  with  the  penitential  exercises  of  the 
returning  transgressor.  He  accepts  the  renewal  of 
his  faith  in  Christ,  notwithstanding  the  guilt  and 
rebellion  of  the  past ;  but  man,  unforgiving  by  na- 
ture, is  both  unable  and  often  unwilling  to  discern 
the  relation  in  which  the  offender  may  afterwards 
stand  in  the  presence  of  the  King  of  kings. 


DEATH    OF    BISHOP    DOANE.  485 

It  was  a  wise  preference,  therefore,  of  David,  when 
he  declared :  "  Let  us  fall  into  the  hand  of  the  Lord, 
for  his  mercies  are  great;  but  let  me  not  fall  into  the 
hand  of  man." 

With  these  preliminary  explications  of  the  spirit 
of  the  text,  T  proceed  to  a  consideration  of  the 
character  and  services  of  that  remarkable  man. 
whose  sudden  death  has  thrown  shadows  so  dark 
and  so  far. 

Bishop  Doaxe  had  his  faults,  as  who  has  not?  "He 
that  is  without  sin  among  you,  let  him  first  cast  a 
stone."  In  taking  a  glance  at  his  infirmities,  let  us 
remember, 

1.  God  is  the  only  Judge. 

2.  He  has  gone  to  his  final  award. 

3.  We  ourselves  are  sinners. 

4.  No  charge  being  judicially  proved,  charity  has 
large  scope. 

5.  His  faults  were  never  concealed;  for  his  nature 
knew  no  guile. 

6.  His  many  virtues  claim  a  full  and  fair  offset 
against  every  charge. 

7.  With  what  judgment  ye  judge,  it  shall  be  mea- 
sured to  you  again. 

These  are  general  considerations.     This  is  not  the 
place,  nor  is  it  my  duty,  to  discuss  the  particulars  of 
accusation.      It  is  sufficient  to  express  the  opinion 
41* 


1:86  SERMON     L'l'ON     THE 

that  the  distinguished  prelate  was  often  harshly 
judged,  and  calumniated. 

There  arc  three  remarkable  facts,  which  Berve  to 
commend,  and  to  enforce,  charity  over  his  grave. 

In  the  first  place,  Bishop  Doane's  most  intimate 
friends  believed  him  innocent.  Judges,  Lawyers, 
physicians,  divines,  intimate  acquaintances,  male 
and  female,  by  scores  and  thousands,  have  placed 
the  most  implicit  confidence  in  his  motives  and 
integrity. 

In  the  second  place,  his  Church,  in  its  Diocesan 
and  Genera]  Convention,  was  never  against  him. 
Indeed,  the  House  of  Bishops  formally  declared  his 
innocencej  and  this  is  presumptive  proof  that  his 
religions  character  could  not  be  impugned  in  the 
( ihurch  to  which  he  belonged. 

In  the  third  place,  it  cannot  he  denied  that  God 
showed  no  little  favour  to   the   Bishop  in  life  and 

in  death.  He  enabled  him  to  accomplish  a  large 
amount  of  good;  protected  him  in  Providence  from 
a  varied  and  powerful  opposition;  and  permitted 
him.  after  a  long  life  of  labour  and  trial,  to  die  in 
peace.  On  this  latter  point,  I  shall  presently  say 
more. 

The  three  facts,  just  mentioned,  do  not  amount 
to  absolute  demonstration;  but  they  must  pass  for 
all  they  are  fully  worth.  To  a  person,  like  myself. 
outside  oi'  his  Church,  and  an  unexcited  observer  of 


DEATH    OF     BISHOP    DOAKE.  487 

passing  events  in  the  community,  they  afford  evi- 
dence of  no  slight  character.  I  am  thankful,  this 
day,  that  I  have  never  felt  it  in  my  power  to  pass 
a  severe  judgment,  in  view  of  the  whole  aspect  of 
the  case,  so  far  as  it  has  been  presented  to  my  mind. 
I  have  seen  enough,  however,  and  have  heard  enough, 
to  make  me  say,  with  David,  "Let  us  fall  into  the 
hand  of  the  Lord,  for  his  mercies  are  great ;  but  let 
me  not  fall  into  the  hand  of  man." 

Having  thus  noticed  some  of  the  things  suggested 
by  the  spirit  of  the  text,  I  now  proceed  to  the  more 
pleasant  task  of  considering  the  characteristic  traits 
of  the  departed  Bishop. 

The  qualities  that  gave  to  Bishop  Doane  his  great 
influence,  and  enabled  him  to  accomplish  so  much 
service,  seem  to  me  to  be  summed  up  under  three 
classes :  intellectual  vigour,  an  indomitable  will,  and 
strong  personal  attractions. 

1.  God  gave  the  Bishop  a  fine  mind.  He  was  a 
man  of  mark  in  intellectual  operations.  His  mind 
was  clear  and  vivid,  of  varied  resources,  and  highly 
cultivated.  His  perceptions  were  quick.  He  pos- 
sessed the  vis  fervlda  ingenii.  Not  so  much  the  lo- 
gician as  the  rhetorician,  he  yet  never  lacked  argu- 
ment to  attain  his  ends.  His  rich  talents  were 
moulded  by  common  sense,  and  by  an  enlarged  know- 
ledge of  human  nature.  In  an  emergency,  his  intel- 
lect soared  highest.     In  fact,  one  of  Bishop  Doane's 


488  sermon    rro.N    the 

peculiarities  of  greatness  consisted  in  always  equal- 
ling the  occasion.  He  saw  what  was  to  be  done,  and 
could  do  it,  and  did  it.  lie  was  adroit,  when  it  was 
necessary  to  be  adroit.  The  lawyers  said  that  la- 
could  have  beaten  them  all,  if  educated  a  lawyer: 
and  military  officers  affirmed  that  he  would  have  made 
a  grand  general  in  war.  Far-seeing,  clear,  quick, 
bold,  always  the  centre  of  the  campaign,  his  mind, 
especially  in  emergencies,  moved  in  Hashes,  whilst  his 
right  arm  thundered  in  action.  The  fertility  of  his 
resources  testified  to  superior  endowments.  His  was 
the  activity  of  spirit.  His  restless  mind  found  do 
time  for  repose;  and  he  was  ready  for  every  kind  <>f 
service  proper  for  him  to  perform.  His  mind  was 
highly  cultivated.  He  was  at  home  in  English  lite- 
rature. The  adornments  of  the  scholar  graced  his 
learning,  and  varied  knowledge  mingled  with  his  theo- 
logical attainments.  All  who  came  in  contact  with 
Bishop  Doane,  felt  the  power  of  his  intellect.  Nor 
were  his  opponents  unwilling  to  acknowledge  his  com- 
manding mental  gifts. 

2.  Bishop  Doane  had  a  ivonderful  strength  of  will. 
He  was  a  man  of  firm  purpose ;  resolute  to  be,  to  do. 
and  to  suffer.  He  could  not  be  second  where  he  had 
a  right  to  be  at  all,  nor  subordinate  in  anything 
where  a  share  of  work  fell  to  his  hands.  It  was  a 
privilege  for  him  to  be  beforehand.  His  will  was  in- 
domitable.    The  Church,  as  the  State,  needs  these 


DEATH    OF    BISHOP    DOANE.  48P 

men  of  strong  will.  Every  community  needs  them. 
Men  of  weak  will  have  their  place ;  and  generally 
they  go  through  life  with  fewer  enemies,  and  are 
blessed  with  the  gentler  virtues.  But  men  of  will 
are  the  men  of  mark,  the  men  of  deeds. 

It  was  this  will-power  that  gave  to  Bishop  Doane 
his  energy.  Energy  does  not  necessarily  belong  to 
high  intellect.  It  is  not  a  mental  gift  or  operation. 
It  belongs  to  the  heart.  Its  spring  is  in  the  affections, 
or  "  active  powers,"  according  to  the  philosophers. 
Bishop  Doane's  energy  was  a  fire  never  out.  It  is  said 
that,  at  the  central  depot  at  Bordentown,  a  reserve 
engine  is  always  kept  with  fuel  ignited,  ready  for  the 
emergencies  of  the  road.  An  ever-ready  locomotive 
in  energetic  activity  was  this  Bishop;  with  large 
driving  wheels,  and  to  each  wheel  a  panting  cylinder. 
His  will,  stronger  than  steam-power,  generated  energy 
in  the  soul. 

His  self-denial  was  associated  with  his  will.  What 
he  determined  to  do,  he  omitted  no  means  to  bring  to 
pass.  The  end  must  meet  the  beginning;  and  by 
God's  grace  success  must  crown  the  plan.  In  labours 
he  was  abundant.  No  wind,  no  rain,  no  cold,  could 
keep  him  from  his  appointments.  He  has  been  known 
to  cross  the  Delaware  when  the  brave  heart  of  the 
ferryman  dissuaded  from  the  peril.  He  could  submit 
to  all  privations  in  the  discharge  of  duty.  He  could 
sleep  anywhere ;  in  his  chair,  at  his  writing-table,  in 


490  SERMON    UPON     THE 

the  car,  or  steamboat,  or  wagon.  And  alter  working 
for  twenty  hours,  the  sleep  of  the  other  lour  could 
well  be  taken  without  choice  of  place.  His  will  out- 
worked his  frame,  in  urging  to  laborious  Belf-denial 
Of  every  kind  for  the  Church's  sake. 

It  was  strength  of  will  that  gave  tin-  Bishop  his 
jK-rxecerance.  Many  a  man  would  have  quailed 
where  he  was  fresh  to  go  forward.  Like  the  work- 
man at  the  anvil,  he  would  wield  the  hammer  all  day, 
could  the  last  stroke  but  perfect  the  work.  He  with- 
stood with  persevering  defiance  an  opposition  which 
would  have  overborne  almost  any  other  man.  He 
clung  fast  to  Burlington  College,  when  many  advised 
him  to  surrender  it ;  and  whatever  may  be  the  ulti- 
mate fate  of  that  institution,  it  could  not  die  whilst 
the  Bishop  lived.  His  perseverance  had  its  ramifica- 
tions of  care  and  of  industry  in  every  part  of  the 
diocese. 

His  will  was  a  strong  element  in  the  Bishop's  suc- 
cess as  a  disciplinarian.  Burlington  College  and  St. 
Mary's  Hall  were  under  the  most  rigid  government. 
The  two  institutions,  so  near  each  other,  required 
watchful  supervision,  and  all  the  appliances  of  the 
wisest  discipline.  Bishop  Doane  was  unremitting  in 
the  fidelity  of  his  oversight.  His  rules  were  rigid, 
minute,  and  wise ;  and  they  were  efficiently  admin- 
istered. The  peremptoriness  of  authority  was  blended 
with  parental  affection ;  and  in  all  the  outgoings  of 


DEATH    OF     BISHOP    DOANE.  491 

his  love,  the  young  men  and  maidens  knew  that  a 
large  will  encircled  a  large  heart. 

3.  Remarkable  social  traits  contributed  to  Bishop 
Doane's  extensive  influence.  He  was  a  man  of  ami- 
able disposition  and  of  warm  feelings.  His  courtesy 
gained  him  friends  everywhere.  Generous  to  the 
poor ;  kind  to  all ;  abounding  with  pleasant  conver- 
sation ;  genial  and  free ;  accessible  at  all  times ;  he 
was  the  life  of  the  social  circle  :  and  it  is  no  wonder 
that  his  personal  endearments  won  hosts  of  attach- 
ments. At  the  same  time,  it  must  be  admitted  that 
many  people  did  not  like  him,  partly  from  prejudices, 
partly  from  his  personal  complacency,  and  partly  from 
causes  already  alluded  to.  But  it  cannot  be  denied 
that  Bishop  Doane  was  eminently  blessed  with  faith- 
ful and  devoted  friends,  in  his  congregation,  in  his 
diocese,  and  throughout  his  whole  church. 

Let  it  be  noticed,  to  his  honour,  that  vindicticeness 
was  not  a  part  of  his  social  character.  He  keenly 
felt  the  disparaging  estimate  of  others,  but  rarely  did 
others  detect  any  resentment.  He  would  meet  his 
adversaries  with  the  usual  courtesies  of  life,  at  home 
or  abroad ;  and  many  have  been  "  the  coals  of  fire  " 
which  his  condescension  has  placed  upon  their  heads. 

One  of  the  most  winning  traits  of  Bishop  Doane's 
character  was  his  love  of  children.  He  gained  their 
hearts.  He  was  the  little  one's  friend.  What  pret- 
tier sight  than  to  see  the  grandfather,  hand  in  hand 


492  SERMON    UPON    THE 

with  his  fair,  curly  grandchild,  prattling  together 
through  the  streets  ?  The  Bishop  loved  little  children, 
and  all  the  little  children  loved  the  Bishop. 

Bishop  Doane  was  happily  outliving  the  opposition 
that  had  formerly  existed  against  him.  One  of  his 
greatest  misfortunes  was  in  the  number  of  flatterers 
that  surrounded  him— not  flatterers  always  by  inten- 
tion, but  rendering  their  homage  in  too  open  and  dan- 
gerous a  form.  His  susceptible  social  nature  was 
under  the  constant  temptation  to  "  think  more  highly 
of  himself  than  he  ought  to  think."  Others  may 
paint,  if  they  choose,  the  infirmities  of  his  social  cha- 
racter in  darker  colours.  I  have  given  the  outline  as 
I  have  seen  it.  Never  intimate  with  the  Bishop,  I 
have  nevertheless  known  him  and  studied  him  for 
twenty-three  years;  and  although  his  nature  had  its 
faults,  it  was  a  noble  one.  The  secret  of  his  influence 
and  success  in  life  is  to  be  found  in  the  three  classes 
of  endowments  I  have  mentioned, — a  vivid  intellect, 
a  strong  will,  and  the  social  charms  of  his  personal 
presence. 

As  a  Churchman,  Bishop  Doane  was  of  the  highest 
grade.  In  my  humble  judgment,  he  departed  from 
the  via  media  of  the  English  Church  of  the  Reforma- 
tion ;  nor  have  I  have  hesitated  to  oppose  his  doc- 
trines in  speech  and  through  the  press.  Dr.  Pusey's 
influence  was  an  injurious  influence ;  and  many  have 
thought  that  the  Bishop  returned  from  England  with 


DEATH    OF    BISHOP    DOANE.  493 

his  views  confirmed  on  some  points  which  had  better 
have  been  abandoned.     It  is  nevertheless  true  thai 
the  Church  of  England  has  always  had  a  succession 
of  that  class  of  churchmen,  with  which  Bishop  Doane 
delighted  to  identify  himself.     Death  is  a  leveller  of 
doctrinal,  as  well  as  personal,  distinctions.     And  a 
High  Churchman,  when  he  comes  to  die,  is  wont  to 
exalt  the  doctrinal  views  entertained  by  Low  Church- 
men.    Nothing  but  Christ  gives  comfort  in  the  last 
hour.     An   affecting  view  of  a  High   Churchman's 
death  is  given  in  Bishop  Doane's  sketch  of  his  friend, 
Dr.  Montgomery,  in  Dr.  Sprague's  Annals  of  the  Ame- 
rican Pulpit;  and  it  is  the  more  affecting  because  it 
substantially  records  the  reported  exercises  of  the 
Bishop's  own  mind.     Ceremonies,  church  order,  de- 
nominational peculiarities,  and  the  minor  incidents 
of  human  apprehension,  disappear  with  the  opening 
light  of  another  world.     When  Christ  is  seen  to  be 
'-'  all  and  in  all,"  the  glory  of  His  grace  dims  the  view 
of  all  things  else,  as  the  light  of  the  sun  dismisses 
the  stars. 

As  a  Bishop,  the  departed  prelate  will  undoubtedly 
be  acknowledged  by  his  Church  to  be  one  of  her 
greatest  sons.  So  he  was.  He  magnified  his  office. 
His  work  was  done  on  a  great  scale.  He  was  per- 
sonally, everywhere,  in  his  own  diocese;  and  his 
writings  were  circulated  widely  in  every  other  dio- 
cese. He  was  the  prominent  man  in  the  House  of 
42 


494  SERMON    UPON     TIIE 

Bishops.  He  could  outpreach,  outvote,  and  outwork 
the  whole  of  his  brethren  in  the  Episcopate.  He  was 
a  sort  of  Napoleon  among  Bishops.  It  was  after  he 
crossed  Alps  of  difficulties,  that  he  entered  upon  the 
campaigns  of  his  highest  renown.  The  bridge  of 
Lodi  and  the  field  of  Marengo  were  to  him  the  inspi- 
rations of  heroism,  and  the  rallying  time  of  mightiest 
strategy.  Bishop  Doane  was,  perhaps,  better  adapted 
to  the  English  Church  than  to  the  American.  His 
prelatical  notions  suited  a  monarchy  more  than  a  re- 
public. In  the  House  of  Lords,  he  would  have  stood 
among  the  foremost  of  Lord  Bishops.  He  of  Oxford 
would  not  have  ranked  before  him  of  New  Jersey. 
Bishop  Doane  was  a  good  deal  of  an  Anglican  in  his 
modes  of  thought  and  his  views  of  ecclesiastical  au- 
thority. Had  he  lived  in  the  days  of  Charles,  he 
would  have  been  a  Laudean  in  prelatical  and  political 
convictions — super-Laudean  in  intellect,  and  sub-Lau- 
dean  in  general  ecclesiastical  temper.  My  own  sym- 
pathies are  altogether  with  the  evangelical,  or  Low 
Church  Bishops,  as  are  those  of  the  vast  majority  of 
this  audience.  I  do  not  believe  in  the  doctrines  of  lofty 
Church  order  and  transmitted  grace,  so  favourably  re- 
ceived in  some  quarters.  But  this  is  a  free  country ; 
and  the  soul  by  nature  is  free,  and  has  a  right  to  its 
opinions,  subject  to  the  authority  of  the  great  Head 
of  the  Church.  Bishop  Doane  had  a  right  to  his ; 
and  he  believed  himself  to  be,  in  a  peculiar  sense,  a 


DEATH    OF    BISHOP    DOANE.  495 

successor  of  the  Apostles.  He  is  one  of  the  few  Ame- 
rican Bishops  who  has  had  the  boldness  to  carry  out 
his  theory,  and  to  call  himself  an  Apostle.  He  de- 
lighted in  his  office.  Peter  was  to  him  the  example 
of  rigid  adherence  to  the  forms  of  the  concision,  whilst 
Paul  was  his  example  in  enduring  suffering  for  the 
extension  of  the  Church.  With  an  exalted  view  of 
his  office,  he  lived,  and  laboured,  and  died.  In  this 
spirit,  he  encountered  all  his  hardships  and  perils ; 
and  when,  as  in  the  case  of  danger  in  crossing  the 
Delaware,  he  jumped  into  the  frail  skiff,  inviting  the 
ferryman  to  follow,  it  was  in  the  same  sjiirit  of  "Apos- 
tolum  vehis."  Bishop  Doane  was,  in  short,  as  com- 
plete a  specimen  of  a  High  Church  Bishop  as  the 
world  has  seen,  and  in  some  respects  he  was  a  model 
for  any  class  of  BishojDs  at  home  or  in  mother  England. 

As  a  Bector,  Bishop  Doane  was  precisely  what 
might  be  expected  of  a  man  of  his  character.  He 
was  earnest,  active,  fertile  in  expedients,  a  faithful 
visitor  of  his  people,  and  a  friend  of  the  poor.  He 
seemed  to  be  always  in  the  right  place  at  the  right 
time.  He  went  about  doing  good,  and  was  known  in 
Burlington  as  rector  more  than  Bishop. 

As  a  Preacher,  no  bishop  surpassed  Bishop  Doane 
He  has  published  more  sermons  than  the  whole  House 
of  Bishops  —  able  sermons,  which  will  be  perpetual 
memorials  of  his  intellectual  powers,  and  of  his  zeal 
for  the  Church.     These   discourses  are  on   a  exeat 


496  SERMON     UPON     THE 

variety  of  topics,  but  they  contain  much  scriptural 
truth,  mingled  with  his  own  peculiar  views  of  ftpofr 
tolic  order,  sacramental  grace,  and  •  3tica]  unity. 

His  sermon  before  the  last  General  Convention  of  the 
Episcopal  Church  in  Philadelphia,  was  the  occasion 
of  one  of  the  greatest  triumphs  he  was  ever  permitted 
to  enjoy.  When  his  discourses  and  diocesan  uddres 
are  collected  into  a  series  of  volumes,  they  will  be 
found  to  be  ;i  treasury  of  High  Church  doctrine  and 
order,  which  no  bishop,  nor  all  the  bishops  ofhiswaj 
of  thinking,  could  equal.  I  have  read  most  of  his 
productions,  and,  although  often  disagreeing  with  him 
in  sentiment,  1  have  never  failed  to  notice  his  intel- 
lectual vigour,  his  zeal  for  his  church,  and  his  unc- 
tion for  the  episcopate. 

As  an  Okatok,  Bishop  Doane  excelled  most  of  his 
brethren.  His  best  efforts  were  line  and  impressive. 
His  voice  was  loud,  and  when  he  chose,  well  modu- 
lated. His  gesticulation  was  animated  and  strong. 
His  clear  blue  eye  glowed  with  vivacity;  and  his 
words  worked  their  way  into  the  minds  and  hearts 
of  his  audience.  Bishop  Doane  showed  an  adapta- 
tion to  the  masses,  which  many  speakers  in  the  sacred 
desk  so  much  lack.  He  was  a  whole-souled,  com- 
manding orator,  when  great  occasions  summoned  forth 
his  powers.  The  two  best  specimens  of  his  delivery, 
within  my  own  observation,  were  at  Mrs.  Bradford's 
funeral,  and  at  the  celebration  of  the  last  birthday 
of  Washington.     Nothing  could  be  more  appropriate 


DEATH     OF     BISHOP    DO  AXE.  497 

and  more  effective,  for  the  ends  of  oratory,  than  was 
his  manner  on  those  occasions.  At  times,  I  am  told, 
that  he  did  not  do  himself  justice ;  but  lie  had  if  in 
him,  and  it  generally  came  out.  Who  of  the  citizens 
of  Burlington,  that  heard  him  on  the  22d  of  last 
February,  did  not  recognize  the  voice,  the  maimer, 
and  the  presence,  of  a  great  popular  orator  ? 

As  a  Writer,  Bishop  Doane's  style  was  peculiar. 
It  was  ornate,  pithy,  Saxon.  It  was  a  style  of  his 
own.  It  would  not  suit  most  men.  Few  ought  to 
presume  to  imitate  it.  But  it  suited  himself  Many 
admire  it.  It  had  the  great  merit  of  clearness.  No 
one  ever  misunderstood  him,  although  his  punctua- 
tion was  as  remarkable  as  his  style.  He  was  a  ready 
writer;  accomplishing  with  ease  all  that  he  under- 
took, and  commonly  justifying,  in  the  productions  of 
his  pen,  the  highest  expectations.  If  his  higher 
occupations  had  not  called  him  away  from  the  pur- 
suits of  literature,  he  would  have  ranked  among  the 
finest  poets  of  the  age. 

In  the  various  points  of  view  in  which  his  charac- 
teristics have  been  now  considered,  Bishop  Doane  was 
a  remarkable  man.  And  his  death  was  an  harmo- 
nious termination  of  a  long  and  useful  life.  Let  us 
meditate,  now,  upon  some  of  the  circumstances  of  his 
departure.1 

1  If  this  detailed  narrative  of  the  circumstances  of  the  Bishop's 
death  may  seem,  to  some  readers,  too  minute,  it  must  be  remem- 

42*  2g 


498  SERMON     UPON     THE 

lit  died  in  the  midst  of  his  work.  His  pleaching, 
during  his  last  semi-annual  Visitation,  was  unusuall) 
acceptable.  Several  of  my  own  brethren  to  the  Pre* 
byterian  ministry  have  spoken,  in  glowing  terms,  of 
one  of  his  sermons  in  West  Jersey.  His  Episcopal 
appointments  in  Monmouth  County  (the  last  one  at 
Freehold),  were  fulfilled  to  the  midsl  of  rain  and 
high  winds,  and  sometimeE  to  an  open  wagon.  His 
services,  as  was  his  custom,  were  arranged  two  or 
three  for  each  day.  Work  was  his  delighl  ;  and  at 
his  work  he  met  the  premonitions  of  death.  With 
his  Episcopal  staff  in  his  hand,  he  received  the 
wound  of  the  last  enemy, — not  from  behind,  but  lace 
to  face. 

Another  kind  token  of  Providence  towards  tin- 
Bishop  was,  that  he  died  at  home.  Riverside  opened 
its  massive  doors  to  him  for  the  last  time;  and  enter- 
ing its  hall,  he  found  a  resting-place  in  its  genial 
study.  After  partaking  of  a  slight  repast,  he  retired 
to  bed,  never  to  rise  from  it.  The  magnificent  man- 
sion, where  he  had  projected  his  enlarged  schemes, 
written  his  numerous  sermons,  and  entertained  with 
profuse  hospitality  his  hosts  of  friends,  was  the  fit 
place  for  Bishop  Doane  to  die.  And  Riverside  had 
the  privilege  of  his  death  and  funeral. 

bered  that,  at  the  time  the  Discourse  was  delivered,  every  inci- 
dent was  demanded  by  the  state  of  public  sympathy  in  the 
community. 


DEATH    OF    BISHOP    DOANE.  499 

God  also  permitted  the  Bishop  to  arrange  what 
was  wanting  to  the  completion  of  his  Episcopal  work. 
During  his  sickness  he  conversed,  for  some  hours, 
about  the  affairs  of  his  Diocese ;  and  gave  directions, 
and  left  memoranda,  respecting  its  approaching  exi- 
gency. On  one  of  these  occasions,  he  had  a  long 
interview  with  the  Hon.  Abraham  Browning,  of  Cam- 
den ;  shortly  after  which,  a  paroxysm  of  delirium 
occurred.  God  spared  him,  however,  to  complete  all 
the   necessary   arrangements   in   the    affairs   of  Me 

church. 

The  time  of  Bishop  Doane's  death  was  well  ordered 
in  Providence.     Had  it  occurred  a  few  years  before. 
a  cloud  of  gloom  would  have  rested  over  his  grave ; 
and   the  inheritance  of  his  good  name  might  have 
been  unredeemed  from  the   tax-list  of  evil  report. 
But  the  aspect  had  been  changed.     His  honours  had 
returned  to  him;  and,  as  if  in  anticipation  of  his 
last  end,  his  fellow-citizens  had  invited  him  to  appear 
before  them  once  more  in  an  address.     On  the  birth- 
day of  Washington,  old  memories  were  revived  ;  and 
he,  who  had  so  often,  in  former  years,  addressed  the 
people  of  Burlington,  in  its  Lyceum,  again  made  its 
Hall  vocal  with  his  eloquence,  and  again  received  the 
applause  of  his  friends  and  neighbours.     His  diocese, 
also,  was  in  a  prosperous  condition,  and  he  was  taken 
away  from  evil  to  come.    In  the  judgment  of  his  best 


500  SERMON     UPON     THE 

friends,  it  was  a  good  time  for  him  to  die.  And  God 
knew  it,  above  men. 

God  was  good  to  the  Bishop  in  surrounding  him, 
during  sickness,  with  the  kindest  comforts  and  care. 
His  sons  were  present  with  all  the  activities  of  filial 
devotion ;  one  of  them  from  the  beginning  to  the  cud. 
by  day  and  by  night.  The  other,  who  had  become 
a  Romanist,  received  forgiveness  for  all  the  }»  rsonal 
pain  the  father  and  the  Bishop  had  received.  This 
was  one  of  the  incidents  that  must  have  given  to  the 
death-chamber  a  sublimity.  His  faithful  physician 
did  all  that  skill  could  do ;  and  the  noble  and  vene- 
rable physician  of  Bristol,  and  the  most  distinguished 
from  Philadelphia,  freely  gave  the  contributions  of 
the  medical  profession.  The  tenderest  female  hearts 
were  around  about  the  sufferer,  —  without  which, 
indeed,  no  death-bed  can  be  what  man  expects  and 
wants.  It  was  well  ordered  that  she,  who  had  the 
first  claims  to  be  present,  was  absent ;  for  could  feeble 
health  well  bear  those  scenes  of  sorrow  ?  l  God  was 
merciful  in  all  these  incidents. 

The  Bishop,  too,  had  his  reason  at  the  last.     It  is 


1  Just  after  the  Delivery  of  this  Discourse,  I  received  a  letter 
from  a  relative  in  Rome,  from  which  the  following  is  an  extract: 
"In  coming  out  of  church  to-day,  we  met  Mrs.  Doane,  who,  I 
thought,  looked  remarkably  well.  She  almost  immediately  began 
to  speak  of  the  Bishop,  and  expressed  her  intention  to  return 
home." 


DEATH    OF     BISHOP     DOANE.  -301 

sad  to  die  with  a  beclouded  mind.  Various  intervals 
of  delirium  had  occurred,  especially  about  the  middle 
of  the  attack.  In  these,  the  Bishop's  mind  was  on 
the  affairs  of  his  diocese,  or  his  class-room,  or  personal 
concerns.  Disease  struck  its  pains  in  every  nerve, 
and  blood-vessel,  and  muscle  of  the  body,  dethroning 
the  intellect,  for  a  time,  from  its  high  dominion. 
But  it  recovered  its  place  before  death,  and  he  con- 
versed with  relatives  and  friends,  took  a  last  loving 
farewell  of  all,  and  prepared'  for  the  conflict,  "  faint 
yet  pursuing." 

The  Bishop  was  strengthened  to  die  in  j^eace.  Par- 
taking of  the  communion,  early  in  the  morning  of 
his  last  day  on  earth,  he  was  refreshed  by  the  ser- 
vice, and  at  its  close,  pronounced  with  a  clear  voice 
the  blessing.  He  then  composed  himself  for  the  final 
struggle.  The  last  words,  as  taken  down  by  the 
family  physician,  were :  "  I  die  in  the  faith  of  the  Son 
of  God,  and  the  confidence  of  His  One  Catholic 
Church.  I  have  no  merits  —  no  man  has,  but  my 
trust  is  in  the  mercy  of  Jesus." 

Thus  departed,  at  noonday,  April  27th,  this  dis- 
tinguished Bishop  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church 
in  the  United  States  of  America.  "  Let  us  fall  into 
the  hand  of  the  Lord,  for  his  mercies  are  great ;  but 
let  me  not  fall  into  the  hand  of  man."  Bishop  Doane 
has  passed  away  from  human  judgments,  to  the  judg- 
ment seat  of  God  ! 


002  SERMON     UPON     THE 

LESSONS   AT    THE   GRAVE. 

Before  separating,  it  is  well  for  us,  as  immortals, 
to  try  to  learn  a  few  lessons  at  a  Bishop's  grave. 

I.  Death  comes  alike  to  all.  My  hearers,  are  you 
ready  to  die  ?  Ye  of  gray  hairs,  or  in  vigorous  man- 
hood, or  in  sublime  youth,  are  ye  prepared  to  meet 
your  God?  What  a  solemn  thing  to  be  coffined  away 
from  human  sight,  and  then  lowered  down  into  a 
chamber,  digged  out  for  our  last  abode,  with  six  feet 
of  earth  thrown  on  to  roof  it  in  ?  Ye  living  mortals, 
your  funeral  day  is  at  hand.  Come,  prepare  for  the 
change ;  for  the  change  is  coming. 

II.  The  honours  of  this  world  are  fleeting  nothings. 
Crown  and  crosier,  sceptre  and  cross,  vestment  of  dis- 
tinction, and  laurel  of  renown,  are  all  left  behind. 
When  the  spirit  enters  its  new  existence,  if  it  has 
been  redeemed  by  blood,  it  carries  with  it  graces  of 
righteousness,  which  abide  forever.  But  earthly 
honour  and  power,  the  elevation  of  outward  position, 
the  distinctions  of  learning  and  rank,  all  the  superfi- 
cial framework  of  the  vanity  of  the  world,  and  all  its 
real  glory,  whatever  there  be  of  it,  sink  away  like  a 
vision  of  delirium."  0,  godly  poor,  be  contented ! 
Worldly,  or  unworldly  high  ones,  fear ! 

III.  Let  us  grow  in  circumspection,  both  ministers 
and  people.  Religion  cultivates  prudence.  It  enjoins 
its  disciples  to  "  walk  in  wisdom  towards  them  that 


DEATH     OF     BISHOP     DOANE.  503 

are  without."  In  our  unguarded  moments,  we  are 
in  danger  of  going  astray,  and  often  are  led  to  do 
what  we  have  charged  ourselves  to  forbear.  Human 
resolutions  are  frail;  but  God  can,  and  will,  give 
strength  to  all  whose  eyes,  in  tearful  penitence,  plead 
for  help  and  mercy.  A  single  act  of  indiscretion,  or 
of  guilt,  may  be  followed  by  the  heavy  retribution 
of  embittered  calumny,  or  unrelenting  exaggeration. 
The  officers  of  the  Church,  above  all  others,  should 
be  above  suspicion.  "See  that  ye  walk  circum- 
spectly; redeeming  the  time,  because  the  days  are 
evil." 

IV.  Let  us  not  be  weary  in  well-doing.  Activity  is 
the  law  of  Christian  life.  The  new  birth  inspires 
high  motive,  and  nurtures  the  spirit  of  self-denial 
and  suffering.  Church  idlers  are  a  spectacle  to  the 
profane.  Shall  Christians  be  "created  unto  good 
works,"  and  not  perform  them  ?  Shall  the  grace  of 
the  Spirit  plead  in  vain  ?  Shall  the  example  of  Christ 
and  the  blood  of  his  cross  be  without  efficacy  to  those 
who  profess  to  follow  the  one  and  to.  be  washed  in 
the  other  ?  Brethren,  "  be  not  weary  in  well-doing ; 
for  in  due  time  ye  shall  reap,  if  ye  faint  not." 

V.  "Charity  is  the  bond  of  perfectness"  Love  binds 
all  the  graces  together ;  and  all  the  graces  are  formed 
out  of  love.  The  same  Divine  likeness  is  impressed 
upon  them  all.  Charity  covereth  a  multitude  of  sins. 
Charity  suffereth  long,  and  is  kind.     If  our  fellow- 


504  SERMON     UPON     THE 

creatures  transgress,  can  they  not  be  forgiven  ".'    Doefl 

not  God,  for  Christ's  sake,  pardon  the  penitent  ?  And 
shall  man  be  forever  hard-hearted  and  unrelenting 
against  his  fellow-sinners?  May  the  Lord  clot  lie  us, 
dear  brethren,  with  every  grace,  and  girdle  our  gar- 
ments with  love!  Charity  is  compatible  with  Truth 
and  Justice.  "Put  on  charity,  which  is  the  bond  of 
perfectness." 

VI.  A  man'*  work  survives  his  life.  A  useful  and 
active  Christian  leaves  imperishable  memorials.  Good 
done  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  can 
never  be  buried.  It  survives  with  a  multiplication 
of  its  power.  It  sends  down  accumulated  influences 
to  distant  generations.  It  lives  forever.  Sermons 
preached,  institutions  established,  catechisms  taught, 
aid  given  to  the  poor  —  all  virtue,  of  whatever  kind, 
lives  in  perpetuity.  And  so,  alas  !  does  evil,  unless 
counteracted  and  circumvented  by  Providence  and 
grace. 

VII.  Let  us  learn,  as  Churches,  to  sympathize  with 
each  other  more.  If  we  all  love  Christ,  what  interests 
have  we  apart  ?  Why  need  we  misrepresent  each 
other's  doctrines,  depreciate  each  other's  worthies,  and 
call  in  question  each  other's  piety  ?  If  there  be  se- 
parate folds,  is  there  not  also  a  large  field  in  common 
where  all  the  good  Shepherd's  sheep  may  feed  on  the 
green  pastures  and  drink  the  pure  waters  ?  I  have 
had  my  share  of  controversy,  but  have  never  relished 


DEATH    OF    BISHOP    DOANE.  505 

it,  and  dislike  it  with  increasing  aversion.  We  need 
not,  we  must  not  surrender  our  principles;  but  what 
is  called  principle  is  often  nothing  more  than  denomi- 
national interest.  Brethren,  our  hearts  beat  together 
to-day.  We  mourn  in  sympathy.  Can  we  not  in 
sympathy  live  together  and  work  together  ? 

VIII.  The  passport  to  Heaven  consists,  not  in  merit 
or  station,  but  in  simple  faith.  The  Gospel  condition 
of  eternal  life  is  the  same  to  men  of  all  nations  and 
generations.  The  Bishop  enters  heaven  in  the  same 
way  with  the  sexton.  The  saints  become  one  in 
Jesus  Christ,  in  the  same  true  and  living  way,  opened 
alike  to  every  creature.  In  dying,  the  Christian  goes 
back  to  the  first  principles  of  his  religion.  As  he 
began  with  Christ,  so  he  ends  with  Christ.  The  con- 
quest of  death  is  won  through  faith.  No  forms  and 
ceremonies ;  or  liturgical  repetitions ;  or  imposition 
of  hands  ;  or  baptismal,  or  immersional  regeneration  ; 
or  Church  connection ;  or  office-bearing,  be  it  that  of 
Pope,  Bishop,  Priest,  Deacon,  or  Minister,  Elder,  Su- 
perintendent, or  Class-leader  —  ever  have,  or  ever 
will,  or  ever  can,  save  a  single  soul.  Bishop  Doane, 
in  his  dying  hour,  had  a  clear  conviction  that  Christ 
was  the  only  hope  for  a  sinner,  lost  by  nature.  This 
doctrine  was  fundamental  in  his  theology ;  and  no 
one  taught  it  more  beautifully  than  in  that  immortal 
hymn  of  his  own  composition : 
43 


506  SERMON     UPON     THE 

"  Thou  art  the  Way ;  to  thee  alone, 
From  sin  and  death  we  flee ; 
And  he  who  would  the  Father  seek, 
Must  seek  him,  Lord,  by  thee. 

"  Thou  art  the  Truth  ;  thy  word  alone 
True  wisdom  can  impart; 
Thou  only  canst  inform  the  mind, 
And  purify  the  heart. 

"  Thou  art  the  Life  ;  the  rending  tomb 
Proclaims  thy  conquering  arm, 
And  those  who  put  their  trust  in  thee, 
Nor  death  nor  hell  shall  harm. 

"  Thou  art  the  Way,  the  Truth,  the  Life  ; 
Grant  us  that  way  to  know  ; 
That  truth  to  keep,  that  life  to  win, 
Whose  joys  eternal  flow." 

May  Heaven  grant  to  us  all,  brethren,  the  right  to 
live  and  die  in  the  truth  of  the  Apostolic  Church,  and 
to  find  our  title  to  Heaven  in  the  apostolic  words : 
"  Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  thou  shalt 

BE    SAVED." 

Can  all  allusion  be  omitted  to  that  remarkable 
funeral? 

The  burial  of  Bishop  Doane  was  one  befitting  his 
position.  A  Bishop  must  be  buried  as  becometh  a 
Bishop.  The  funeral  procession  was  one  of  sublime 
solemnity.  No  one,  who  saw  it,  can  ever  forget  it. 
The  day  and  the  season  were  opportune  with  the 
brightness  and  sadness  of  the  last  of  April.  The 
coffin  borne  aloft  on  the  shoulders  of  fellow-mortals ; 


DEATH     O  F     BISHOP     DOANE.  507 

the  royal  purple  of  the  pall,  fringed  with  white,  and 
fluttering  out  to  the  wind  like  the  motions  of  a  stricken 
eagle ;  the  crosier  overlaying  the  body  with  the  em- 
blem of  Episcopal  authority ;  the  bereaved  family  la- 
menting with  Christian  lamentation  the  father  of  the 
household ;  the  threescore  of  surpliced  clergy  follow- 
ing  their   silent    Chief  with   uncovered   heads;  the 
Governor,  Chief  Justice,  and  other  dignitaries  of  the 
State ;  the  students   of  the  College  with  badges  of 
grief,  and  the  weeping  young  ladies  of  the  Hall  ar- 
rayed in  full  mourning,  true-hearted  representatives 
of  their  sister-graduates  all  over  the  land ;  the  long 
line  of  distinguished  strangers  and  of  sympathizing 
fellow-citizens ;  the  tolling  of  all  the  church  bells,  and 
of  the  city  bell ;  the  immense  gathering  of  spectators 
around  St.  Mary's  Church  and  the  grave ;  —  every- 
thing was  as  impressive  as  life  and  death  could  make  it. 

The  high  task  I  have  attempted,  has  been  imper- 
fectly performed.  T  am  ready  to  meet  its  responsi- 
bilities before  God  and  man.  My  offering  of  May- 
flowers, fragrant  with  the  freshness  of  their  gather- 
ing, has  been  laid  upon  the  new-made  grave ; — flowers 
plucked  by  a  Puritan's  hand,  and  placed  in  rnemoriam 
over  the  dust  of  a  great  Episcopal  Bishop. 


CAPTURE  OF  TICONDEROGA,  1759. 


43  *  ( 509 ) 


An  Historical  Discourse,  in  Centennial  Commemoration  of  the  Cap- 
ture of  Ticonderoga,  1759,  delivered  at  Ticonderoga,  N.Y.,  October 
11th,  1859. 


(510 


THE    CITIZENS    OF    TICONDEROGA 


VISITORS   AT   LAKE   GEORGE, 


x$  iiscourse 


HISTORY     OF     LOCAL     EVENTS 


IS    RESPECTFULLY    INSCRIBED 


THE  AUTHOR. 


(511) 


It  is  proper  to  state  that  the  Author  of  this  Discourse,  being 
accustomed  to  spend  a  few  weeks  in  the  summer,  for  recreation, 
at  Lake  George,  was  naturally  led  to  investigate  the  local  his- 
tory of  that  section  of  country.  Hence  this  Historical  Dis- 
course, whose  military  aspect  is  out  of  the  line  of  his  general 
pursuits. 

The  sources  of  authority,  consulted  by  the  author  in  the  pre- 
paration of  the  Discourse,  are  chiefly  the  original,  official  docu- 
ments, furnished  from  the  Archives  of  the  State  and  War 
Departments  in  London  and  Paris,  and  printed  by  the  authority 
of  the  State  of  New  York,  under  the  title  of  "New  York  Colo- 
nial Documents."  The  quotations,  when  not  otherwise  marked, 
are  always  from  the  volumes  of  this  historical  treasury.  Other 
works  are  also  referred  to  in  the  foot  notes. 


C.  Y.    R 


Burlington,  N.  J.,  November  30th,  1859. 


(512) 


HISTORICAL   DISCOURSE. 


The  promontory  between  these  two  beautiful  lakes, 
in  the  North  American  wilderness,  is  grand  by  nature 
and  renowned  in  history.  The  Architect  of  worlds 
gave  shape,  as  well  as  sublimity,  to  the  landscape, 
uniting  the  rocks,  and  streams,  and  forests  of  Ticon- 
deroga  in  a  physical  configuration  suited  to  a  theatre 


of  great  events. 


Nature  becomes  a  prophet  by  the  inspiration  of 
God's  hands.  The  earth's  outlines  are  commissioned 
with  foreknowledge,  to  declare  the  purposes  of  their 
original  destiny.  The  magnificent  river,  the  broad 
bay,  the  defiant  mountain-pass,  the  extensive  plain. 
the  encircling  lake,  the  roaring  waterfall,  the  jutting 
peninsula,  send  up  to  distant  ages  many-voiced  pre- 
dictions of  their  future  importance  hi  local  and  uni- 
versal history. 

The  promontory  of  Ticonderoga  was  by  nature 
prefigured  for  uses  in  war.  For  centuries,  it  stood 
like  an  Indian  chief,  born  and  trained  to  his  destiny, 
watching  both  lakes  with  bow  and  arrow  in  hand. 
The   spirit  of  military  achievement  was   early  en- 

2H  (513) 


5]  I  C  A  PT  I    R  E    OF    T  :  CO  X  D  E  B  OG  A. 

camped   upon   its   rocks,  tented   beneath   it-  wo 
refreshed  in  its  streams,  and  inspired  by  its  positi 
of  strategy.     The  oracle  of  the  Indian,  with  savage 
omens,  was  enshrined  within   these    forests.     I! 
the  shrill  clarion  of  gallanl   France  has  echoed  it* 
onsets  and  its  victories;  and  the  martial  music  of 
sturdy  old   England   and  of  the  Colonies  has  here 
thundered  to  the  charge,  or  sounded   retreats   and 
requiems.     Ticonderoga  was  baptized   for  war:  —  a 
prophet,  indeed,  bul  a  warrior,  too;  a  very  chieftain 
of  the  old  frontiers!     We  hail  thee  in  L859,  Veteran 
of  many  battles;  nol  in  the  pride  of  thy  fiery  youth, 
nor  for  thy  deed.8  of  death  ;  but,  rebaptized  with  the 
spirit  of  peace,  in  the  centennial  soberness  of  age! 

It  is  just  a  century  since  Ticonderoga  fell  into  the 
possession  of  the  Colonies  by  its  forced  evacuation 
on  the  part  of  the  French,  in  L759.  Bistorj  invites 
us  to  remember  the  first  triumph  of  American  arms 
upon  this  memorable  promontory.  Let  it  be  our  aim 
to  recall  the  Bcenes  and  expeditions,  of  which  Ticon- 
deroga was  the  centre ;  to  disi  me  of  the  prin- 
ciples involved  in  the  events  enacted  in  tic  region  ; 
and  to  carry  away  with  us  some  <>f  the  impressions 
nurtured  by  the  lapse  of  ;i  century. 

I.     The  Indian  Gateway. 

The  promontory  of  Ticonderoga  was  the  old  Indian 
GATEWAY  from    tin1  Iroquois  country  of  the  South  to 


CAPTURE    OF     TICONDEEOGA.  515 

the  regions  of  the  North  and  of  the  East.  Before 
the  Celtic  Frenchmen  came,  the  Indians  were  in  pos- 
session here.  The  sons  of  the  forest  were  invested 
with  proprietorship  by  rights  of  nature  and  physical 
power.  The  Great  Spirit  had  spread  out  for  them, 
in  North  America,  a  vast  and  splendid  inheritance, 
long  unclaimed  by  a  rivalling  civilization. 

In  the  progress  of  centuries,  the  Iroquois  rose  to 
be  the  chief  nation  of  Indian  history.  Their  wig- 
wams and  council-fires  were  in  Central  and  Western 
New  York;  but  their  hunting-grounds  included  parts 
of  Pennsylvania,  of  Virginia,  of  the  Northwestern 
Territory,  and  of  Canada.  Their  confederation,  as 
five  nations,  dates  back  to  about  the  year  of  our  Lord 
1  500,  or  a  century  before  the  Dutch  began  to  encroach 
upon  their  forests  and  streams.  During  the  whole 
period  of  Iroquois  domination,  and  anterior  to  it,  the 
Ticonderoga  pass  was  the  outlet  for  their  expeditions 
of  war  in  this  direction.  "  Bald  Mountain  " '  was 
then,  as  now,  natural  in  its  scalped  and  savage  deso- 
lation. Vegetation  shunned  its  rocks;  and  the  Indian 
canoe,  in  gliding  by  its  frowning  height,  knew  that 
Che-on-de-ro-ga,  the  outlet  of  the  lake,  was  near.  If 
the  promontory  be  a  Gate,  opening  between  the  two 
lakes,  or  countries,  then  beautiful  Lake  George  may 

1  Now  known  by  the  romantic  name  of  Rogers1  Slide.  The 
old  name  ought  to  be  restored  to  this  mountain.  "  Rogers' 
Slide"  might  be  retained  as  pari  of  "Bald  Mountain.'* 


516  CAPTURE     OF     TICONDEROGA. 

be  called  the  meadow,  or  prairie,  beyond  it;  whilst 
the  outlet  was  the  dangerous  and  rugged  water-path, 
leading  down  from  the  upper  prairie  through  the  Gate 
to  the  lower  meadow.  In  these  solitudes  of  woods 
and  waters,  the  Iroquois  wandered.  As  peaceful 
hunters,  or  warlike  scouts,  the  ancient  forests  knew 
their  trail  on  the  spring  grass,  on  the  autumn  leaves, 
or  on  the  feathery  snow.  The  "Gate"  opened  either 
way,  towards  the  Champlain  or  the  Georgian  prairie; 
and  turning  upon  its  harsh  hinges,  the  winds  of  war 
oft  swung  it  to  and  fro,  creaking  with  the  wails  of 
death.  On  either  post  hung  a  scalp,  dangling  from 
the  antlers  of  a  deer,  or  transfixed  by  the  point  of  the 
flinty  knife. 

This  promontory  was  thus,  by  position,  pre-emi- 
nently war-ground.  The  Iroquois  went  through  its 
passes,  to  battle  with  the  Hurons  and  Algonquins, 
who  in  turn  boldly  sought  the  hostile  Iroquois  through 
Ticonderoga.  The  trails  of  ancient  days  witnessed 
many  a  deed  of  woe  upon  the  blood-stained  soil ;  and 
shadowed  in  the  lakes  by  day,  or  by  the  light  of  the 
stars  at  night,  canoes  have  glided  through  the  deep 
with  paddles  plied  by  savage  passions. 

The  outlet,  Che-on-de-ro-ga,1  was  familiar  to  the 
admiring  tread  of  the  Indians.     Within  that  mile  of 

1  This  is  the  Indian  name,  corrupted  to  Ticonderoga,  meaning 
"Sounding  Waters"  The  French  name  was  "Carillon,"  ex- 
pressing the  same  idea,  or  more  particularly  a  "chime." 


CAPTURE    OF     TICONDEROGA.  517 

falls  and  foam,  what  grandeur  has  inspired  the  pass- 
ing aborigines !  The  present  road  follows,  in  the 
main,  the  old  French  military  road  betwreen  the 
Upper  and  Lowrer  Falls,  and  deviates  from  the  waters 
of  the  outlet.  Methinks  the  Indian  trails  may  have 
skirted  closer  to  the  dashing  stream ! 

The  Lake  narrows  about  a  mile  above  the  Upper 
Falls,  and  engineers  for  itself  a  channel  among  the 
meadows  and  hills.  It  soon  reaches  a  rocky  pass,  ro- 
mantic in  configuration,  about  half-way  to  the  Upper 
Falls.  Here  is  a  beautiful  and  lively  chute,  with  seve- 
ral channels  —  the  deepest  to  the  west,  close  to  the 
shore;  and  among  those  sharp  rocks  many  a  canoe 
has  sped  dowm,  like  an  arrow  from  the  bow,  and  safely 
reached  the  mark  of  the  "Carrying  Place."  This 
first  rocky  pass  is  a  sentinel  outpost  of  alarm,  where 
the  lake  arrays  itself  for  the  coming  water-fray. 

At  the  "Carrying  Place,"  the  rough  strife  begins. 
The  war-notes  rise  in  the  air;  the  opposing  waves 
rush,  like  Iroquois  and  Algonquins,  to  the  contest ; 
the  dense  ranks  close  fearfully  upon  each  other ;  and 
the  sound  of  many  waters  roars  to  the  distance,  like 
rolling  thunder.  The  main  course  of  the  outlet,  for 
more  than  a  mile,  is  a  series  o£  rapids.  So  incessant 
are  the  little  falls  and  descents,  that  the  outlet  resem- 
bles a  water  stairway,  whose  cascade  steps,  painted 
white  with  foam,  reflect  every  colour  of  the  sun. 
The  Indians,  as  they  wander  up  and  down,  cen- 
44 


518  CAPTURE    OF    TICONDEROGA. 

turies  ago,  on  either  .side  of  Che-on-de-ro-ga,   foi 
awhile  the  tumult  of  war,  and  reel    their  thoughts 
with  sublime  visions.     Hark!  a  noise  in  the  thicket 
suddenly  reanimates  savage  Life;  and  Bee!  with  .-train- 
ing eye  and  ear,  the  bow  is  bent  between  brawny  arms. 

Thus  passed  centuries,  before  the  white  man  came. 
War-whoops  sounding;  water.-  splashing  ;  arrows  fly- 
ing; forests  overshadowing;  birds  Boaring;  wolves 
howling;  deer  affrighted;  Bcouts  exploring;  toma- 
hawks piercing;  warriors  dying;  and  the  old  Gate 
-winging  northward  and  southward,  to  [roquois  and 
Algonquin. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  sun  and  stars  kepi  their 
course  in  the  skies;  and  Providence  was  preparing 
Ticonderoga  for  Celtic  and  Anglo-Saxon  entrance. 

IT.  Cham  plain's  Expedition  of   L609. 

The  second  series  of  historical  events  at  Ticonde- 
roga, was  ushered  in  by  the  Expedition  of  Cham- 
plain,  in  the  year  1609.  Authentic  history  now 
begins. 

Before  the  Dutch  had  landed  in  New  York,  and 
before   the  Puritans  had   touched  Plymouth    Bock, 

Champlain  stood  upon  the  promontory  of  Ticonde- 

* 
roga.     Hendrick  Hudson  entered  the  river  now  bear- 
ing his  name,  in  "De  Halve  Maan,"1  on  the  3d  of 
September,  1609;    Samuel  Champlain,  in    his  little 


1  The  Half  Moon. 


CAPTURE    OF    TICONDEROGA.  519 

canoe,  navigated  the  Iroquois  Lake  in  July  of  the 
same  year.  It  is,  therefore,  exactly  two  centuries 
and  a  half,  or  just  two  hundred  and  fifty  years,  since 
the  French  discoverer  knocked  at  the  old  Ticonde- 
roga  gate.  And  his  first  knock  was  with  the  butt-end 
oi'  an  "  arquebus."  l 

Champlain  was  the  first  man  who  used  powder  and 
ball  in  Iroquois  territory,  in  the  State  of  New  York. 
The  echo  of  the  first  gun  through  the  forests,  and  over 
the  mountains,  and  up  the  water-course  of  Ticonde- 
roga,  was  from  that  arquebus,  fired  in  1609. 

Another  memorable  characteristic  of  this  expedi- 
tion, consisted  in  its  provoking  the  first  contest  on  the 
soil  between  the  white  man  and  the  Indian.  Two 
Iroquois  chiefs  fell  at  Cham  plain's  murderous  dis- 
rhar 

Yet  another  notable  circumstance  belongs  to  this 
sxpedition:  the  Iroquois  continued  ever  after  to  be 
the  implacable  enemies  of  France.  Transferring 
their  Indian  enmity  to  the  new  settlers  at  Quebec, 
they  contributed  more  than  any  single  agency,  under 
Providence,  in  overthrowing  the  dominion  of  Franc 
in  North  America. 

Discoverer,  arquebus-firer,  Indian  aggressor,  and 
stirrer  of  retribution,  Samuel  Champlain's  name  has 
an  enduring  connection  with  Ticoxderoga. 


1  An  arquebus   was  a  large,  unwieldy  sort  of  a  gun,  cocked 
with  a  wheel. 


520  CAPTURE    OF    TIC0NDEE06A. 

Wheat  brought   the   illustrious    Frenchman    hen 
Terrible  war!     At  the  head  of  twenty-four  canoes 
of  Indians,  containing  sixty  warriors,  he  came  from 
Quebec  on  a  military  expedition.     Several   months 
beforesettingout.lic  had  met  the  "Algoumequin " 
savages  a  few  leagues  above  Quebec,  where  he  assured 
them  that  "they  could  judge  whether  he  intended  to 
make  war  or  not,  since  he  carried  with  him  firearms, 
and  not  merchandise  fortraffic,  as  they  had  been  given 
to  understand."1     An. 1  when  the  [roquois  warriors, 
perceiving  their  small  aumbers,  sent   two  canoes,  to 
learn  of  their  enemies  whether  they  wished  to  fighl 
Champlain's  party  replied,  that  "  they  desired  aothing 
else."5      War.   and    only    war.    had    broughl    them    to 
Ticonderoga. 

Champlain  gives  the  following  account  of  the 
battle  : 

••  The  moment  we  landed,  they  [Champlain's  [ndians]  began 
to  run  about  two  hundred  paces  towards  their  enemies,  who 
stood  firm,  and  had  qoI  yel  perceived  my  companions,  who  went 
into  the  bush  with  some  savages.  Ours  commenced  calling  me 
in  a  loud  voice,  and  making  way  for  me,  opened  in  two,  ami 
placed  me  at  their  head,  marching  about  twenty  paces  in  advance, 
until  I  was  within  thirty  paces  of  the  enemy.  The  moment 
they  saw  me  they  halted,  gazing  at  me,  and  I  at  them.  When 
I  saw  them  preparing  to  shoot  at  us,  I  raised  my  arquebus 
and  aiming  directly  at  one  of  the  three  chiefs,  two  of  them  fell 
to  the  ground  by  this  shot ;   one  of  their  companions  received  a 

1  Les  Voyages  du  Sieur  Le  Champlain,  i.,  180. 

2  "Qu'ils  rte  disiroini  autre  chose,"  i.,  198. 


CAPTURE     OF     TICONDEROGA.  521 

wound,  of  which  he  died  afterwards.  I  had  put  four  balls  in  my 
arquebus.  Ours,  on  witnessing  a  shot  so  favourable  to  them,  set 
up  such  tremendous  shouts,  that  thunder  could  not  have  been 
heard  ;  and  yet,  there  was  no  lack  of  arrows  on  one  side  and  the 
other.  The  Iroquois  were  greatly  astonished,  seeing  two  men 
killed  so  instantaneously,  notwithstanding  they  were  provided 
with  arrow-proof  armour,  woven  of  cotton  thread  and  wood ; 
this  frightened  them  very  much.  Whilst  I  was  reloading,  one 
of  my  companions  in  the  bush  fired  a  shot,  which  so  astonished 
them  anew,  seeing  their  chiefs  slain,  that  they  lost  courage,  took 
to  flight,  and  abandoned  their  fort,  hiding  themselves  in  the 
depths  of  the  forest,  whither  pursuing  them,  I  killed  some  others. 
Our  savages  also  killed  several  of  them,  and  took  ten  or  twelve 
prisoners.  The  rest  carried  off  the  wounded.  Fifteen  or  six- 
teen of  ours  were  wounded  by  arrows ;  they  were  promptly 
cured."  ' 

The  question,  whether  Ticoncleroga  was  the  exact 
locality  mentioned  by  Champlain,  has  been  commonly 
settled  in  the  affirmative.  The  description  corres- 
ponds; the  latitude  is  the  same;  and  the  spot  is  marked 
on  Champlain's  map  as  "  the  place  where  the  Iroquois 
were  defeated."  Besides,  Champlain  seems  to  have 
pursued  the  enemy  as  far  as  the  lower  waterfall.  In 
his  account,  he  says  : 

"  I  saw  other  mountains  to  the  south,  not  less  high  than  the 
former  ;    only  that  they  were  without  snow.     The  Indians  told 

1  A  full  account  of  the  battle  between  Champlain's  party  and 
the  Iroquois,  may  be  found  in  "Les  Voyages  de  Champlain, y  i. 
198-202,  which  has  been  translated  into  English  in  the  Neir 
York  Colonial  Documents,  iii.  2-24.  It  may  also  be  found  in 
"Home  Sketches  of  Ticonderoga,"  p.  18,  an  exceedingly  able, 
interesting,  and  valuable  historical  pamphlet,  by  Mr.  Flavius 
J.  Cook,  a  student  of  Yale  College  ;  1850. 
44* 


022  CAPTURE    OF    T  I  C  0  N  D  E  K  0  <  1  A  . 

me  that  there  we  were  to  go  to  meet  their  enemies,  and  that  they 
were  thickly  inhabited,  and  thai  we  must  pass  by  a  water/all, — 
which  I  afterwards  saw,  —  and  thence  into  another  lake,  three 
or  four  leagues  long  ;  and,  having  arrived  at  its  head,  there  were 
four  leagues  overland  to  be  travelled,  to  pass  to  a  river,  which 
Mows  towards  the  coast  of  the  Iroquois,  tending  towards  that  of 
the  Alraouchiquois,  and  that  they  were  only  two  days  going 
there  in  their  canoes,  as  I  understood  afterwards  from  prisoners 
of  war  that  we  took,  who,  by  means  of  some  Algonquin  interpre- 
ters who  were  acquainted  with  the  [roquois  language,  conversed 
freely  with  me  about  all  they  had  noticed."  ' 

Another  more  important  question  is,  whether  ( !ham- 
plain  was  justified  in  heading  this  hostile  expedition. 
If  judged  in  the  light  of  Christian  civilization,  the 
answer  would  be  "No;"  but  in  the  night  of  back- 
woods opportunity,  which  threw  a  double  darkness 
over  war-ethics,  Chainplain  traced"  Yes,"  with  Indian 
blood,  on  the  Ticonderoga  rocks.  His  relations  to  the 
Algonquin  tribes,  however,  did  not  necessitate  his 
participation  in  all  their  feuds.  Nor  was  the  exist- 
ing war  one  of  defence.  On  the  contrary,  the  expe- 
dition was  an  aggressive  one,  depending,  to  some 
extent,  in  its  origin,  upon  Champlain's  co-operation. 
In  his  previous  exploration  up  the  St.  Lawrence  as 
far  as  the  island  of  "  St.  Eloy,"  near  Lake  St.  Peter's, 
the  Indians  had  witnessed,  for  the  first  time,  the 
effects  of  firearms ; 2  and  probably  convinced  that, 
with  an  ally  like  Champlain,  they  could  defeat  their 


1  Champlain's  Yoyages,  i.  196.  2  Ibid.,  i.  178. 


CAPTURE    OF     TICOXDEROGA.  523 

old  hereditary  enemies,  they  persuaded  him  to  ac- 
company their  little  army,  numbering  only  sixty  war- 
riors, far  into  the  Iroquois  territory. 

Champlain  undoubtedly  conciliated  the  St.  Law- 
rence Indians  by  his  active  agency  in  securing  their 
victory.  Adventurers  generally  would  have  pursued 
the  same  course.  The  temptation  of  new  discoveries 
and  explorations  may  have  added  to  Champlain's 
military  ardour  on  this  memorable  occasion.  His- 
tory pleads  for  some  leniency  in  judging  of  the  actions 
of  public  characters  in  similar  circumstances.1 

The  expedition  of  1609,  with  its  incidents  of  right 
or  wrong,  brought  a  new  name  to  Lake  Iroquois,  — 
European  in  the  place  of  Indian,  and  prophetic  of  the 
universal  change  of  dynasty,  —  a  name  given  at  77- 
conderoga,  and  associated  forever  with  these  rocks  as 
well  as  with  the  waters. 

III.  The  Old  Frexch  War. 

A  third  series  of  events  in  the  historical  outline 
of  Ticonderoga,  is  marked  by  the  scenes  and  expe- 
ditions of  the  Old  French  War.  The  causes  of 
these  contests  between  England  and  France,  had 
their  origin  afar  off  in  the  past.     A  very  brief  view, — 


1  The  use  of  the  arquebus  against  the  bow  aud  arrow  was  uot 
an  act  of  bravery  or  of  magnanimity.  Like  the  expedition  itself, 
if  defensible  at  all,  it  is  only  so  by  the  terrible  necessities  and 
usages  of  war. 


524  CAPTURE    OF    TICO.NDEROGA. 

a  mere  glance  at  the  overclouded  and  distant  land- 
scape,—must  not  be  omitted  on  the  present  centen- 
nial occasion. 

The  boundaries  between  the  twa  kingdoms,  which 
were,  in  Europe,  the  common  waters  <>t*  a  narrow 
channel,  became  still  more  intermingled  in  tin-  West- 
ern world  by  the  unsettled  lines  of  nature's  myste- 
rious wilderness.     Both  England  and  France  traced 
their  titles  to  their  transatlantic  possessions  over  tin- 
graves  of  ancient  voyagers,  through  the  dust  of  parti- 
san maps,  amidst  the  darkness  of  confused  treaties. 
under  the  wiles  of  perpetual  encroachments.    Finally; 
possession,  which  is  stronger  than  claim,  umpired  to 
France   Canada,  and  most  of  the  valley  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, and  to  England,  her  North  American  Colo- 
nies.   England  had  chained  her  lion  at  the  sea-shore  ; 
France  had  uncaged  her  eagle  in  the  forests  of  the 
interior. 

England,  however,  never  surrendered  her  claim  to 
the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  valleys.  France  was  equally 
resolute  in  pressing  her  title  to  parts  of  New  Eng- 
land and  New  York ;  the  Governors  of  New  France 
ever  maintaining  that  all  the  country  watered  by 
streams  flowing  into  the  St.  Lawrence  and  the  great 
lakes,  belonged  to  Canada.  Under  this  latter  claim, 
most  of  Northern  and  Western  New  York  fell  under 
French  dominion. 

The  boundary  contest,  so  far  as  New  York  was 


CAPTURE    OF    TICONDEEOGA.  525 

concerned,  was  fought  by  diplomacy  upon  the  terri- 
tory of  the    Iroquois.     Inasmuch    as   the   hunting- 
grounds    of    these   Indians    extended   by    universal 
acknowledgment  from  Lake  Champlain  on  the  east, 
to  lakes  Ontario,  Erie,  and  Huron,  on  the  north  and 
west,  both  parties  laboured  to  show  their  title  to  be 
the  protectors  of  these  Indians,  and  the  virtual  sove- 
reigns of  their  soil.     Documentary  history  is  filled 
with  accounts  of  conferences  and  treaties  with  the 
Five  Nations,  attended  with  the  usual  quantity  of 
wampum-belts,  bead-strings,  powder,  rum,  and  elo- 
quence.    The  testimony  of  history  is,  however,  de- 
risively on  the  side  of  the  English.     From  the  begin- 
ning, the  Five  Nations  were  on  terms  of  friendship 
with  Great  Britain,  and  in  a  position,  of  general  hos- 
tility to  France.1     After  disputing  for  half  a  century, 
England  obtained  a  great  advantage  over  France  at 
the  treaty  of  Utrecht,  in  1713,  in  which  the  Five 
Nations  were  acknowledged  to  be  the  "  subjects  of 
Great  Britain."    France  had  previously  succeeded,  at 
the  treaty  of  Byswick,  in  1697,  in  obtaining  the  im- 
plied acknowledgment  of  her  right  to  all  the  Missis- 
sippi Valley,  watered  by  streams  flowing  into  the 
Mississippi.     England  disowned  the  French  interpre- 


1  Vaudreuil,  Governor  of  Canada,  writing  officially,  in  1757, 
says:  "Since  the  settlement  of 'the  Colony,  the  Five  Nations 
have  never  been  known  to  take  up  the  hatchet  against  the  Eng- 
lish."    X.  587. 


526  CAPTURE    or    TICON  deroga. 

tation  of  the  treaty  of  Ryswick;  France  rejected  Tin- 
English  interpretation  of  the  treaty  of  Utrecht. 

The  Old  French  War  was  almost  a  continuation 
of  the  preceding  contest,    Notwithstanding  the  treaty 
of  Aix-la-Chapelle,  in  1748,  the  French  pursued  their 
schemes  of  territorial  aggression  with  more  spiril  and 
resolution  than  ever.     About  this  time  the  English 
turned  their  attention  with  new  interest  to  the  Ohio 
Valley.     The  Ohio  Land  Company,  which  was  char- 
tered in  1749,  engaged  Gist  and  Trent  to  explore  the 
country  up  to  the  junction  of  the  Alleghany   and 
Monongahela  rivers,  and  into  parts  of  Western  Vir- 
ginia and  of  Ohio.     The  French  took  measures   n 
increase  their  power,  in  order  to  retain  possession  of 
the  entire  valley  of  the  Mississippi.     They  launched 
a  large  war-vessel    on    Lake   Ontario,    strengthened 
their  fort  at  Niagara,  and  commenced  building  a  fort 
on  the  river  Le  Boeuf,  in  Northwestern  Pennsylvania, 
where  Waterford  now  stands.     They  also  took  pos- 
session of  the   fort  which  the  Ohio  Company  was 
building   on    the   present   site   of    Pittsburg.      The 
Governor  of  Virginia  had   already  sent  out  Major 
Washington — God  bless  the  young  officer ! — to  remon- 
strate against  the  French  encroachments.     But  the 
embassy  was  in  vain.     God's  blessing-time  had  not 
yet  come.     Washington  commenced  his  military  life 
by  abandoning  Fort  Necessity,  and  retiring  behind 
the   Allearhanies.     The  French  dominion   then   ex- 


CAPTURE    OF    TICONDEROGA.  527 

tended  over  the  whole  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  from 
Canada  to  Louisiana.  Not  a  military  post,  not  an 
encampment,  not  a  flagstaff,  was  owned  by  England 
in  the  mighty  West. 

Aroused  at  length,  England  resolves  to  win  her 
way  to  western  empire.  Regulars  are  sent  from  Ire- 
land and  Scotland ;  and  large  provincial  forces  are 
gathered  to  strike  a  determined  blow.  Three  expe- 
ditions were  formed  in  1755  :  one  under  Braddock. 
to  capture  the  fort  at  the  junction  of  the  Alleghany 
and  Monongahela ;  another  under  Shirley,  to  defend 
Oswego  and  to  attack  Niagara;  and  a  third  under 
Johnson,  to  attack  Crown  Point. 

The  wails  of  Bradclock's  defeat  soon  echo  through 
the  forests  and  mountains  of  Pennsylvania.  The 
Colonies  are  filled  Avith  dismay.  Has  the  God  of  bat- 
tles forsaken  the  cause  of  liberty  and  Protestantism  ? 
Despair  not !  Reverses  occur  in  war ;  defeats  recover 
victory. 

The  expedition  against  Crown  Point  was  under- 
taken for  the  recovery  of  rights  of  soil,  long  invaded 
by  the  French,  and  held  adversely  to  the  British,  by 
the  title  of  a  fort.  Fort  St.  Frederick  had  been 
erected  on  this  Point  in  1731  (originally  on  the  oppo- 
site side  of  Lake  Champlain),  on  lands  belonging  to 
the  Iroquois,  contrary  to  two  stipulations  of  the 
treaty  of  Utrecht ;  first,  that  "  the  Five  Nations  were 
subjects  of  Great  Britain,"  and  secondly,  that  their 


528  CAPTURE    OF    TIOONDEROGA. 

lands  should  be  held  "  inviolate  by  any  occupation  or 
encroachment  of  France."  Being  on  the  highway  t<> 
Canada,  the  possession  of  this  fort  was  of  the  utmost 
importance  to  the  Colonies;  and  one  of  the  three 
expeditions  had  been,  therefore,  organized  for  its 
capture. 

The  first  sound  of  the  war  that  reached  Ticonde- 
roga. was  the  rustling  of  the  wind,  from  the  south, 
among  the  trees  of  the  forest.  A  large  provincial 
army  was  gathering  at  Albany,  to  march  for  the  cap- 
ture of  Crown  Point,  A  part  of  it  is  already  at  tin* 
Carrying  Place,  engaged  in  building  a  fort,1  and  in 
cutting  a  road  to  Lake  St.  Sacrament.2  Dieskau's 
expedition  is  soon  seen  sweeping  down  Lake  Cham- 
plain,  with  an  army  of  three  thousand  men,  rampant 
in  the  confidence  of  victory.  Ticonderoga  is  as  yet 
a  wilderness,  but  its  military  eminence  offers  a  good 
place  for  camping  ground.  Dieskau  resolved  to  leave 
one  division  of  his  little  army  at  Ticonderoga,  and  a 

1  Fort  Edward. 

-'  The  French  name  of  Lake  George,  was  "Lake  of  the  Holy 
Sacrament."  For  the  origin  of  this  name,  the  reader  is  referred 
to  the  author's  Historical  Discourse  at  the  Centennial  celebration 
of  the  Battle  of  Lake  George,  delivered  in  1855,  p.  41.  In 
the  same  note  will  be  found  a  defence  of  the  name  of  Lake 
George  against  the  fanciful  name  of  Horicon,  suggested  by  the 
great  novelist  Cooper,  to  meet  his  romantic  purposes. 


CAPTURE     OF     TICONDEROGA.  -329 

smaller  one  at  the  Two  Rocks,1  about  fifteen  miles  far- 
ther on,  whilst  he  himself  advanced,  with  the  re- 
mainder of  his  corps,  through  the  South  Bay,2  to  the 
American  lines.  If  Fort  Edward  had  been  attacked, 
according  to  the  original  design,  a  triumph  would 
have  undoubtedly  rewarded  the  heated  valour  of  the 
French ;  but  the  Indians,  who  dread  the  cannon  of  a 
fort,  refused  to  assist  in  the  onset. 

Dieskau  then  dashed  on  towards  the  English  en- 
campment at  Lake  George.  Near  the  point  of  a 
mountain,  still  called  "  French  Mountain,"  he  ar- 
ranged his  forces  to  encounter  the  American  detach- 
ment under  Williams  and  Hendrick,  which  had  been 
sent  out  to  meet  him.  This  detachment  was  terribly 
cut  up  and  defeated ;  and  the  French  hurried  on,  to 
enter  the  camp  with  the  pursued.  But  the  tide  of 
war  has  already  turned.  The  Yankee  soldiers  are 
there,  behind   rude   entrenchments ;    they  fight  for 


1  The  "Two  Rocks"  is  a  pass,  about  ten  miles  from  White- 
hall, which  naturally-attracts  the  attention  of  the  traveller.  X.  Y. 
Col.  Doc.  X,  320,  341,  344.  383  [Map],  397,  709,  720,  914. 

-  Dieskau's  line  of  inarch  was  not  past  the  present  site  of 
Whitehall,  as  is  set  down  on  some  of  the  American  maps,  but 
through  the  "South  7?ay."  Turning  to  the  right,  instead  of 
going  on  to  Whitehall,  his  bateaux  and  canoes  passed  beyond 
the  new  bridge,  and  moored  at  the  extreme  end  of  the  bay,  on 
its  southwesterly  side.  The  line  is  thus  laid  down  in  a  map 
attached  to  the  French  narrative  of  the  expedition.  See  Paris 
Documents  in  X.  Y.  Col.  Doc.  X,  720.  The  French  documents 
call  the  bay  "the  Great  bay."     X.  320. 

45  2 1 


530  CAPTURE    OF    TICONDEROGA. 

their  country  and  their  homes,  and  gain  a  notable  vic- 
tory at  the  camp  of  Lake  George,  on  the  8th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1755.  The  remnant  of  the  dispirited  French 
soldiers  reach  Ticonderoga  on  the  11th.  and  encamp 
upon  its  silent  heights,  to  sleep  away  defeat  and  toil. 
The  gallant  Baron  Dieskau  never  again  saw  Lake 
Champlain.  Wounded  and  taken  prisoner,  hi'  was 
soon  after  transported  to  Europe.1 

The  first  military  lesson  taughl  by  tin-  Old  French 
War,  at  Ticonderoga,  was,  "Boldness  wins,  only 
when  Fortune  favours."2 

The  scene  changes.  All  is  animation,  now,  at  Ca- 
rillon. Engineers  come  to  survey  its  ground,  and  to 
line  out  the  site  of  a  fort.  The  axe  rings  upon  the 
trees;  the  spade  is  struck  into  the  rocky  soil;  the 
hammer  sounds  on  the  nail;  the  saw  crashes  through 
the  timber ;  iron  drills  into  the  rock ;  the  soldiers  have 
become  labourers  and  mechanics.  If  Johnson  is  busy 
at  Lake  George  in  the  erection  of  Fort  William 
Henry,  shall  Vaudreuil  remain  inactive  at  Carillon  ? 
No,  an  English  fort  at  one  end  of  the  lake,  shall  find, 
face  to  face  with  it,  a  French  fort  at  the  other.  The 
lilies  shall  be  planted  under  the  lion's  eye. 


1  Dieskau  survived  several  years.  The  impression  stated  in 
ray  note  to  the  Lake  George  Discourse,  that  he  died  in  1757,  is 
not  correct.  He  was  sent  to  England,  by  way  of  Boston  (X.  440  i ; 
and  was  exchanged  at  the  peace  of  1763.     X.  340. 

2  Dieskau's  motto  was,  "Boldness  wins." 


CAPTURE    OF    TICONDEROGA.  531 

A  clearing  was,  until  then,  unknown  to  this  pro- 
montory.    Hitherto,  the  wild  forests  had  rustled  to- 
gether in  the  freedom  of  solitude,  and  waved  their 
branches  in  the  unmolested  lights  and  shadows  of 
nature.     As  the  work  advances,  the  opening  space 
lets  in  the  sun  to  see  the  arts  of  war.     The  road  from 
the  lake  has  been  already  cut ;  and  a  military  store 
and  hospital  are  going  up  at  the  landing,  simulta- 
neously with  a  fort  on  the  hill.     A  saw-mill  is  also 
begun  at  the  falls.1     The  logs  of  the  fort  are  now 
laid ;  the  earth,  cannon  proof,  is  thrown  in ;  the  rude 
ramparts  are  fashioned ;  the  intrenchment  is  ready  ; 
the  bastions  are  completed.     Amidst  the  cheers  of 
the  regulars,  Canadians,  and  Indians,  the  standard 
of  France  is  run  up  into  the  air,  and  its  lilies  of 
Grandeur  wave  over  the  little  stockade  fort  of  Carillon ! 
Fort  Carillon  was  commenced  in  September,  1755, 
soon  after  Dieskau's  defeat.     Vaudreuil,  the  Gover- 
nor of  Canada,  writes,  September  25th,  1755  : 

"  The  engineer  has  reported  to  me  that  the  situation  of  Caril- 
lon is  one  of  the  best  adapted  for  the  construction  of  works 
capable  of  checking  the  enemy ;  that  the  suitable  place  for  a  for- 
tification is  a  rock  which  crowns  all  the  environs,  whence  guns 
could  command  both  the  river  which  runs  from  Lake  St.  Sacra- 
ment, and  that  leading  to  the  Grand  Marais  and  Wood  Creek. 
I  see  no  work  more  pressing  and  useful  than  this  fortification  ; 
because  it  will  enable  me  to  maintain  a  garrison  to  stop  the  enemy 
in  their  march  from  Lake  St.  Sacrament,  the  immediate  outlet  of 


Paris  Documents,  X. 


532  CAPTURE    OF    TICONDEROGA. 

which  is  no  more  than  a  league  and  a  quarter  from  that  post; 
and  I  will  be  able  to  harass  and  fire  on  them  pretty  often  within 
pistol  range,  for  more  than  three-fourths  of  a  league  in  a  river, 
both  on  this  and  on  the  other  side  of  the  Carrying  Place.  I  add, 
that  it  is  of  infinite  consequence  to  hurry  the  work,  as  it  is  to  be 
feared  that  the  enemy  will  seize  upon  Carillon,  of  which  it  is  cer- 
tain he  would  employ  every  means  to  keep  possession.  I  have 
given  orders  that  men  should  set  to  work  there,  without  a  mo- 
ment's delay.  It  would  be  highly  necessary  that  this  fortification 
should  be  finished  this  fall,  and  that  it  were  possible  to  place  a 
good  battery  there."1 

The  fort  was  originally  a  square  fort,  with  four  bas- 
tions, which  were  defended  by  a  redoubt,  situated  on 
a  hill  that  commands  the  fort.2 

The  Marquis  of  Montcalm  writes: 

"  The  fort  consists  of  pieces  of  timbers  in  layers,  bound  to- 
gether with  traverses,  the  interstices  filled  in  with  earth.  Such 
construction  is  proof  against  cannon,  and  in  that  respect  is  as 
good  as  masonry,  and  much  better  than  earthen  works;  but  it  is 
not  durable.  The  site  of  the  fort  is  well  adapted  as  a  first  line 
at  the  head  of  Lake  Champlaiu.  I  should  have  wished  it  to  be 
somewhat  larger,  capable  of  containing  five  hundred  men,  whereas 
it  can  accommodate,  at  most,  only  three  hundred."3 

1  Paris  Documents  in  Colonial  History,  X.,  325. 

-  Ibid.,  414. 

:!  Montcalm,  X.  433.  This  account,  written  by  Montcalm  him- 
self, shows  that  the  fort  was  originally  a  wooden  and  earthen  fort, 
like  William  Henry.  It  was,  doubtless,  afterwards  strengthened 
with  stone  by  the  French,  as  they  found  leisure.  The  stone 
works,  as  now  seen,  were  in  part  built  by  General  Amherst,  in 
1759.  The  works  were  still  further  strengthened  by  the  Ameri- 
cans in  the  war  of  the  Revolution.  The  fort,  as  it  now  stands, 
is,  therefore,  different  from  the  original  structure  of  1755-6. 


CAPTURE    OF    TICONDEROGA.  533 

The  fort  was  provided  with  twenty  guns,  besides 
swivels  and  mortars.  It  was  completed  in  Septem- 
ber, 1756.1 

In  addition  to  the  fort,  Montcalm  established  a 
post  at  the  Lower  Falls,  and  a  strong  intrenchment 
at  the  Upper  Falls,  flanked  by  two  bastions.2  There 
was  also  an  intrenchment  to  command  the  position 
near  the  present  steamboat  landing.3 

A  fort  is  an  agitator  in  the  military  world.  It  not 
only  invites  assault,  but  is  itself  a  centre  of  aggres- 
sive operations.  Carillon,  built  for  defence,  is  all 
ready  to  attack.  It  stands  on  the  promontoiw,  the 
enemy  of  Fort  William  Henry,  by  oath  of  position ; 
its  guns  glowing  for  opportunity,  its  flag  flapping 
its  impatient  folds,  its  encampment  eager  for  the 
march. 

The  second  military  lesson,  taught  at  Ticonde- 
roga,  in   the  Old  French  War,  is,  strategy  begets 

STRATEGY. 

Whilst  the  war  between  England  and  France  was 
waging  in  other  parts  of  the  world,  what  of  the  two 
forts  in  the  Northern  wilderness?  Shall  Fort  Wil- 
liam Henry  triumph  ?  or  shall  the  eagles  of  Lake 
George  alight  on  the  rampart  of  Carillon  ? 

Montcalm  had  arrived  from  France  in  May,  1756, 


1  X.,  480.  2  Ibid.,  425.  3  Ibid.,  470. 

45* 


534  CAPTURE    OF    TICONDEROGA. 

as  Dieskau's  successor.  In  June,  he  hastened  to 
Carillon,  to  examine  its  defences.  He  carefully  sur- 
veyed all  the  approaches  to  the  fort,  and  made  an 
exploring  tour  through  the  woods,  with  Chevalier  cle 
Levi,  on  the  "Mohawk  Road."  l  He  formed  a  camp 
(3ii  the  heights,  of  three  hundred  and  thirty  tents, 
and  seventy  log-houses,  with  three  thousand  troops 
here  and  at  Crown  Point.2  But  the  American  expe- 
dition of  175G  did  not  advance;  it  was  dilatory  and 
inactive,  like  that  of  the  preceding  year.  General 
Abercrombie  did  not  reach  Albany  until  the  end  of 
June,  and  then  delays  occurred,  which  prevented  ;m\ 
aggressive  movement  from  Fort  William  Henry  during 
the  season. 

In  the  meantime,  Montcalm  was  determined  to  be 
busy  elsewhere.  Organizing  a  military  expedition, 
he  soon  reached  Frontenac,  crossed  Lake  Ontario, 
and  in  a  few  days  victoriously  assaulted  the  two  forts 
at  Oswego.  He  took  sixteen  hundred  prisoners  of 
war,  and  captured  thirty  pieces  of  artillery,  with  a 
large  amount  of  ammunition  and  military  stores.3 
This  bold  exploit  struck  terror  throughout  the  fron- 
tiers, even  down  to  Albany,  and  undoubtedly  contri- 
buted to  arrest  any  military  movements  against  Crown 
Point.  Montcalm,  on  returning  to  Carillon,  consid- 
ered   the    practicability  of  attacking    Fort  William 

1  X.,  433.  2  Entick's  History,  i.  471.  3  X.  444. 


CAPTURE    OF    TICONDEROGA.  535 

Henry  ;  but  finally  it  was  concluded  at  a  council, 
to  be  "  too  great  a  risk,  lest  they  should  be  beaten, 
as  they  were  last  year,  under  Dieskau ;  so  it  was  re- 
solved to  wait  for  the  English,  and  see  if  they  would 
come."  '     They  did  not  come. 

The  winter  of  1756  passed  sluggishly  at  the  French 
fort.  Early  in  the  spring  of  1757,  before  the  snow 
had  left  the  mountains,  or  the  ice  melted  in  the  lake, 
the  war-fires  began  to  blaze.  A  party  of  nearly  two 
thousand  Canadians  and  Indians,  set  out  on  snow- 
shoes  against  Fort  William  Henry,  provided  with 
scaling  ladders  and  all  the  appliances  used  in  a  gen- 
eral assault.  They  first  appeared  before  the  fort, 
early  on  the  morning  of  the  19th  of  March.  The 
noise  on  the  cracking  ice  was  soon  followed  by 
the  sharp  sounds  of  the  artillery  of  the  garrison, 
which  beat  off  the  assailants.  Four  other  brave 
assaults  were  equally  unavailing;  but  the  French 
succeeded  in  burning  two  sloops,  all  the  bateaux, 
several  storehouses,  and  most  of  the  huts  of  the 
rangers. 

This  expedition  had  thoroughly  explored  the  little 
tort ;  it  was  the  scouting  party  of  the  larger  expedi- 
tion soon  to  be  organized.  The  doom  of  Fort  Wil- 
liam Henry  was  sounded  among  the  hills. 

Montcalm  skilfully  organized  his  plans.     His  army 

1  VII.  239. 


536  CAPTURE    OF    TICONDEROGA, 

consisted  of  six  thousand  regulars  and  Canadians,  and 
seventeen  hundred  Indians.  The  Indians  arrived  at 
Carillon  on  the  23d  of  July,  from  the  North,  by  the 
way  of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  Lake  ( Ihamplain.  In  the 
language  of  one  of  the  French  missionaries  among 
the  Abenakis  : x  "  Scarcely  had  we  begun  to  distin- 
guish the  summit  of  the  fortifications  [at  Ticonde- 
roga],  when  our  Indians  arranged  themselves  in  the 
order  of  battle,  each  tribe  under  its  own  ensign. 
Two  hundred  canoes  thus  formed  in  beautiful  order, 
furnished  a  spectacle  which  caused  even  the  French 
officers  to  hasten  to  the  banks,  judging  it  not  un- 
worthy of  their  curiosii  \ ." 

The  army  is  at  last  collected  together;  the  cannon, 
bateaux,  and  provisions,  are,  with  the  greatest  Labour, 
transported  by  hands  to  Lake  St.  Sacrament.8  The 
march  is  begun,  by  lake  and  land,  towards  Fort  "Wil- 
liam Henry.  As  a  dark  Btorm-cloud  rallies  its  scat- 
tered masses  in  the  sky,  by  the  beat  of  the  loud 
thunder-drum,  and  the  banners  of  lightning, 
Montcalm's  expedition  of  17-">7.  collecting  togethei 
its  elements  at  the  mountains  of  Ticonderoga.  moved 
through  the  valley  of  the  lake,  arrayed  southwardly 
with  woe  and  war. 

The  march  is  eminently  successful.     De  Levi,  with 


1  Father  Roubaud.      His   Narrative    may  be  found   in  Kip' 
Jesuit  Missions,  pp.  139-189.  -  X.  r,4T. 


CAPTURE    OF    TICONDEROG A.  537 

a  large  detachment  of  Canadians  and  Indians,  cut 
his  way  through  the  forests,  passing  back  of  Bald 
Mountain,  by  way  of  Sabbath-day  Point  and  Bolton, 
to  the  landing-place  near  the  fort ;  whilst  the  boats 
reached  their  destination  in  safety,  with  the  greater 
part  of  the  Indians  and  regulars,  headed  by  Mont- 
calm. On  their  way  down  the  lake,  they  met  the 
wrecks  of  the  barges,  and  the  dead  bodies  of  the 
troops,  engaged  in  Colonel  Parker's  unfortunate  ex- 
pedition from  Fort  William  Henry.  Everything  in- 
spired courage  in  Montcalm's  army.  It  landed,  with- 
out any  opposition,  a  short  distance  below  Tea  Island, 
on  the  second  of  August,  1757. 

On  the  next  day,  the  camp  was  formed  farther  up 
towards  the  fort.  It  was  situated  on  the  south  side 
of  the  brook  which  enters  the  lake  a  short  distance 
from  the  cove  where  the  wreck  of  the  "  Caldwell " 
now  lies.  That  little  cove  was  called  "Artillery 
Cove,"  because  the  cannon  were  there  landed.  The 
trenches  were  soon  dug,  and  two  batteries  were 
opened.  On  the  seventh  day  after  the  operations 
were  begun,  the  trenches  had  been  pushed  as  far  as 
the  gardens  around  the  fort,  and  the  third  and  last 
battery  was  being  prepared.  The  Indians  took  great 
delight  in  the  progress  of  the  operations  of  the  siege, 
and  actively  assisted  in  the  trenches.  They  greatly 
admired  the  artillery  and  the  dexterity  of  the  gun- 
ners.    One  of  their  number,  an  Indian  chief,  under- 


538  CAPTURE    OF     TICONDEROGA. 

took  to  fire  one  of  the  guns,  and  pointing  it  against 
one  of  the  angles  of  the  fort,  which  had  beeD  as- 
signed to  him  as  a  mark,  he  fortunately  hit  the  very 
spot,  amidst  the  applause  of  the  wild  sons  of  the 
lb-rest.  On  being  urged  by  Borne  French  officers  to 
repeat  the  experiment,  he  declined,  giving  as  a  reason 
for  his  refusal,  that  he  had  reached  that  degree  of 
perfection  to  which  he  had  aspired,  and  did  not  wish 
to  risk  his  reputation  in  a  second  trial.1 

"Fort  William  Henry,  abandoned  by  its  proper  sup- 
ports, and  being  already  crippled  in  it.-  defences,  sent 
a  Hag  of  truce  before  the  last  battery  of  the  enemy 
was  opened,  and  obtained  honourable  terms  of  capitu- 
lation. The  garrison  was  immediately  removed  to 
the  intrenchments  on  the  rocky  hill  where  Fort 
George  was  afterwards  built,  and  prepared  to  march 
in  the  morning  to  Fort  Edward.  But  Indian  thirst 
had  become  excited,  and  the  revelry  of  vengeance 
coursed,  or  cursed,  through  the  hearts  of  the  savages. 
I  pass  over  the  scenes  of  slaughter.  The  Colonies 
were  horrified  even  more  than  with  Braddock's  de- 
feat. The  war-cloud  had  burst  over  the  captive  gar- 
rison, and  blood  flowed  like  the  swollen  streamlets, 
poured  by  a  storm  into  the  lake. 

The  fort  wTas  demolished  with  axe  and  fire.     The 
name  of  William  Henry  ceased  to  be  known  among 

1  Kip's  Jesuit  Missions,  p.  173. 


CAPTURE    OF     TICONDEROGA.  539 

military  fortifications.  It  has  come  down  in  history 
with  the  associations  of  a  French  triumph,  an  Indian 
massacre,  and  a  splendid  American  hotel.  Montcalm 
returned  to  Carillon  in  triumph.  He  had  driven  the 
English  from  Lake  St.  Sacrament.  With  the  means 
of  transportation  for  his  cannon  and  stores,  he  might 
have  flung  back  the  cowardly  Webb,  from  Fort  Ed- 
ward, and  even  sounded  French  clarions  in  Albany. 
But  the  work  on  which  he  went  had  been  done,  and 
done  thoroughly.  The  fort  on  the  southern  shore 
of  St.  Sacrament  was  no  more,  whilst  Carillon  stood 
in  the  proud  life  of  victory,  the  champion  of  the 
northern  hills.  Montcalm,  reversing  the  defeat  of 
Dieskau,  had  gathered  the  laurels  of  the  lake,  and, 
with  them,  large  treasures  of  war. 

Thus,  the  third  military  lesson,  taught  at  Ticon- 
deroga,  in  the  Old  French  War,  was,  military  GENIUS 

IS    TERRIBLE    IN    ITS    VICTORIES. 

The  reverses  of  the  English  in  the  campaigns  of 
Europe  and  America,  aroused  the  public  opinion  of 
the  nation  against  the  Ministry.  The  Duke  of  New- 
castle had  already  been  compelled  to  resign,  and  the 
great  William  Pitt  had  been  called  into  power,  first, 
for  an  interval  of  a  few  months,  and  now,  again,  in 
1757,  more  permanently.  New  energies  were  at 
once  inspired  into  the  administration  of  public  affairs, 
at  home  and  abroad.     The  "  Great  Commoner's  "  sym- 


540  CAPTURE    OF    TICONDEROGA. 

pathies  with  the  American  Colonies,  enabled  him  to 
summon  a  large  military  force  into  the  field.  Aber- 
crombie  was  already  in  America ;  but  Pitt  selected 
Lord  Howe  as  the  virtual  and  efficient  head  of  the 
new  expedition  against  Crown  Point. 

On  the  5th  of  July,  1758,  an  army  of  sixteen 
thousand  men,  with  a  large  quantity  of  artillery,  set 
out  from  the  head  of  Lake  George  for  Ticonderoga, 
in  nine  hundred  bateaux  and  one  hundred  and  thirty 
whaleboats. 

Arise,  arise,  Carillon  !  Arise,  or  fall !  Thy  name 
of  "  Chime  "  can  only  be  held  by  the  thunder  of  ar- 
tillery. The  little  garrison  is  on  the  alert.  On  July 
1st,  the  regiments  of  La  Reine,  Guyenne,  and  Bearne, 
are  marched  up  to  the  Carrying  Place.  On  either 
side  of  the  Lower  Falls  are  posted  the  regiments  of 
La  Sarre,  Royal  Rousillon,  Languedoc,  and  the  first 
battalion  of  Berri ;  whilst  at  the  fort  the  second  bat- 
talion of  Berri  stands  on  guard.1  This  disposition 
of  forces  was  not  made  with  any  serious  expectation 
of  arresting  the  progress  of  the  British,  but  with  a 
view  to  impede  their  march,  and  to  take  advantage 
of  any  disaster,  or  error,  incident  to  the  work  of  war. 

It  having  been  reported  that  the  British  intended. 
to  land  near  Bald  Mountain,  or  perhaps  even  fall  in 
the  rear  of  the  French,  by  the  way  of  Trout  Brook 


N.  Y.  Col.  Doc.  X.  721,  737. 


CAPTURE    OF    TICONDEROGA.  541 

Valley,  two  detachments  of  volunteers,  commanded 
by  Captains  Trepezet  and  Germaine,  were  sent,  on 
the  5th,  to  watch  the  movements  of  the  enemy,  and 
to  oppose,  or  harass,  the  disembarkment  in  that  di- 
rection.1 

The  immense  armament,  however,  faltered  not  at 
the  bay  or  the  precipice,  but  rowed  on  towards  the 
outlet,  somewhat  uncertain  about  the  exact  point  of 
landing,  until  finally  the  "  Burnt  Camp  "  is  selected.2 
Some  of  the  boats  passed  through  the  reedy  shallows  ; 
some  stopped  at  their  edge ;  some  rounded  the  little 
island  in  the  present  steamboat  channel,  and  some 
continued  through  the  chute  to  the  Carrying  Place.3 
The  French  fired  a  few  volleys,  at  the  distance  of  six 
hundred  yards, — too  far  to  do  execution, — and  then 
retired  to  their  position  at  the  Lower  Falls.4 

Abercrombie's  host  effected  a  landing  without  loss. 
The  gallant  Howe  leaped  ashore  in  the  name  of 
"  England  and  King  George ;"  a  true  representative 
of  people  and  monarch,  and  the  very  embodiment  of 
the  spirit  of  a  military  expedition.     The  troops,  after 


1  X.  Y.  Col.  Doc.  X.  721,  722,  738,  894. 

2  The  Burnt  Camp,  or  Champ  brule,  was  the  place  where  M. 
ue  Contrecceur  encamped  in  1756.  X.  894.  It  is  the  same 
locality  that  was  afterwards  known  as  "Lord  Howe's  Land- 
ing.'' and  where  the  steamboat  now  lands. 

3  A  Xew  York  regiment,  and  a  part  of  the  Jerseys,  landed  at 
the  same  time,  near  the  French  camp.  [At  the  Upper  Falls.] 
X.  734.  *  X.  734. 

46 


542  CAPTURE    OF    TICONDEROGA. 

being  drawn  up  in  military  order,  marched  in  the 
early  afternoon,  in  four  parallel1  divisions,  on  the  left 
of  the  outlet,  towards  the  fort.  Lord  Howe  headed 
the  advanced  column  of  the  righi  centre.  The  sound- 
ing waterfall  was  a  scout  more  unerring  than  ;i 
Mohawk,  to  give  the  general  direction;  but  the  line 
of  march  which  had  been  adopted  could  not  be  pre- 
served amidst  the  entanglements  of  the  aboriginal 
forests,  and  the  columns  fall  upon  each  other  in  some 
disorder.  At  this  juncture,  when  about  half-way  to 
the  Lower  Falls,  Howe's  column,  after  crossing  Trout 
Brook,2  immediately  encountered  hostile  troops,  wan- 
dering on  the  opposite  hill,3  and  apparently  uncertain 
as  to  their  course.  They  are  the  detachment  of  Tr»'- 
pezet,  which,  having  seen  the  first  division  of  the 
enemy's  bateaux  pass  Bald  Mountain,  intended  to 
oppose  their  landing,  or  at  least  prevent  themselves 
from  being  cut  off  from  their  own  army ; 4  but,  losing 
their  way  in  the  forests,  they  were  now  seeking  their 
camp,  perplexed  and  bewildered.  A  conflict  imme- 
diately ensued.     Nearly  two  hundred  French  were 


1  So  Entick  in  his  history,  III,  252.  The  official  despatch  of 
Abercrombie  says  :  "  The  regulars  in  the  centre  and  the  provin- 
cials on  the  flanks."     X,  725. 

'  Trout  Brook  is  called  in  the  French  despatches,  "Bernes 
River,"  " Bernets  River,"  and  "Birney,"  on  the  same  page. 
X,  738. 

3X,  735.  *X,  735. 


CAPTURE    OF     TICONDEROGA.  543 

killed,  or  taken  prisoners ;  a  few  only  escaped,  by 
wading  through  the  rapids  to  the  large  island,,  and 
thence  to  the  Falls.1  But  alas!  among  the  eight  of 
the  British  slain,  Lord  Howe,  the  army's  hope,  lay 
dead  on  the  edge  of  the  hill.  Near  the  moaning 
waters  of  the  reluctant  brook,  he  ended  his  life-cam- 
paign. A  thousand  men  on  that  day,  and  there, 
were  less  than  one !  Numbers  vanish  to  ciphers,  in 
problems  of  war.  The  living  Howe,  at  the  crisis  of 
Ticonderoga,  was  a  host,  and  a  host's  leader  to  vic- 
tory ;  his  corpse  in  the  camp  gave  the  mute  watch- 
word of  coming  woe.  The  army  retreated  with  their 
fallen  hero,  to  spend  the  night  in  a  vigil  of  tears ; 
whilst  Nature,  with  uninterrupted  glory,  imaged  her 
stars  and  her  mountains  in  the  quiet  lake, — quiet  on 
that  calm  July  night  as  death  itself,  and  bright  as 
the  hope  of  the  resurrection. 

The  work  of  war  must  go  on.  On  the  7th,  Lieut.- 
Colonel  Bradstreet  marched,  about  noon,  with  6000 
men,2  to  take  possession  of  the  saw-mill;  but  the 
enemy,  on  their  retreat,  had  burnt  it  and  destroyed 
the  bridge.     Colonel  Bradstreet  secured  the  position, 


1  X,  Y22,  747. 

2  X,  722.  See  also,  "A  Narrative  of  the  Battle  of  Ticonde- 
roga," by  Dr.  James  Searing,  of  Long  Island,  a  Surgeon  in  one 
of  the  Regiments  ;  contained  in  the  "  Proceedings  of  the  New 
York  Historical  Society  for  1847,"  pp.  112-117. 


544  CAPTURE    OF    TICONDEROGA. 

and  reconstructed  the  bridge.     The  whole  army  took 
up  their  quarters  there  for  the  night. 

On  the  morning  of  the  8th,  Engineer  Matthew 
Clerk  was  sent  to  reconnoitre  the  enemy's  intrench- 
ments;  and  "on  his  report  that  the  works  could  !><■ 
carried,  if  attacked  before  they  were  finished,  it  was 
agreed  to  storm  them  that  day."1     The  attack  was 
begun  under  the  folds  of  brave  banners,  and  with 
drums  and  bugles  that  had  often  sounded  victory.    It 
was  soon  ascertained  that  "the  intrenchments  were 
not  only  much  stronger  than  had  been  represented, 
and  the  breastworks  at  least  eight  or  nine  feet  high, 
but  that  the  ground  before  them  was  covered  with 
felled  trees,  whose  branches  pointed  outwards,  and 
obstructed  the  advance  of  the  troops."2   On,  battalion 
of  Royal  Americans !     On,  regiments  of  New   I 
land,  New  York,  and  New  Jersey  !     On,  brave  High- 
landers of  Scotland,  and  English  veterans  of  King 
George  !     "  Forward ! "  was  the  morning  watchword 
of  that  day  of  blood. 

"  Few,  few  shall  part  where  many  meet, 
The  turf  shall  be  their  winding-sheet, 
And  every  sod  beneath  their  feet 
Shall  be  a  soldier's  sepulchre." 

Fearfully  w^ell  had  Montcalm  made  his  prepara- 
tions.   Earth  and  timber  are  choice  materials  in  mili- 

1  Abercrombie,  X,  126.  2  Ibid.,  727. 


CAPTURE     OF     TICONDEROGA.  545 

• 

tary  defence.  Ditches  and  embankments,  felled  trees 
and  redoubts,  supply  formidable  places  of  shelter  to 
brave  men,  resolved  to  do  or  die.  Three  thousand 
soldiers  had  been,  for  two  days,  woodcutters,  diggers, 
and  wheelbarrowers ;  and  on  the  third  day,  they 
stand  with  burnished  guns  to  defend  their  works. 
The  battalion  of  La  Sarre  occupies  the  left,  towards 
the  outlet ;  Royal  Rousillon  is  in  the  centre ;  and 
Guyenne  on  the  extreme  right.  Intermediate  be- 
tween the  left  and  centre,  lay  Languedoc  and  Berri. 
and  between  the  centre  and  right,  La  Reine  and 
Bearne.  Bourlamaque  commanded  on  the  left ;  De 
Levi  on  the  right;  Montcalm  in  the  centre,  and 
everywhere.1 

Near  the  beginning  of  the  action,  an  attempt  was 
made  by  the  English  to  enfilade  the  intrenchments  in 
reverse,  by  some  pieces  of  artillery  floated  down  the 
river  on  two  rafts,  which  had  been  constructed  for 
that  purpose ;  but  the  guns  of  the  fort  were  soon 
brought  to  bear  upon  them,  and  one  of  the  rafts  was 
sunk.2  This  disaster  compelled  the  retreat  of  other 
barges  which  the  English  had  caused  to  advance,  in 
the  hope  of  turning  the  left  of  the  enemy  during  the 
battle.3 

The  attack  embraced  four  points  along  the  line  of 

1  X,  737.  2  X,  735,  740  ;  also  Dr.  Searing,  116. 

3  Montcalm,  X,  728,  745,  749,  723,  896. 

46  *  2  k 


546  CAPTURE    OF    TICONDEROGA. 

the  intrenchments.  which  extended  over  a  quarter  of 
a  mile.  Never  did  soldiers  fight  more  bravely,  or  at 
greater  disadvantage.  The  severest  onset  was  against 
the  French  right  on  the  Lake  Champlain  side.  Bere 
the  Scotch  Highlanders  and  English  grenadiers  per- 
formed prodigies  of  valour,  and  advanced  close  upon 
the  abattis.1  But  valour,  in  front  of  entangling  in- 
trenchments, and  concealed  musketry  and  artillery, 
was  on  that  day  in  vain.2  Falling  back  to  attack  the 
centre  once  more, they  were  again  repulsed;  the  ban- 
ners of  Royal  Rousillon  defied  the  storm.  After 
another  ineffectual  effort  on  the  French  left,  which 
was  the  most  exposed  point,  the  English  and  Ameri- 
cans retreated,  between  six  and  seven  o'clock  in  the 
evening,  with  1400  men  wounded,  and  over  500 
killed.3  Among  the  latter,  was  the  engineer,  Clerk. 
who  had  advised  the  attack  without  sufficient  recon- 
noissance. 

Some  remarkable  providences  connect  themselves 
with  Abercrombie's  expedition.  1.  In  the  first  place 
must  be  noted,  the  influence  of  the  death  of  Lord 
Howe.     In  consequence  of  this  catastrophe,  the  army 


,#X,  748. 

-  The  trees  which  had  been  cat  down  to  form  the  abattis,  left 
on  open  space,  in  front  of  the  French  lines,  of  about  350  feet ; 
so  that,  while  the  French  were  concealed  behind  the  intrench- 
ments, the  English  were  in  full  view. 

3  See  Montcalm's  Report  of  the  Battle,  X.,  737,  738,  739. 
Also  X.,  748,  in  a  letter  to  Vaudreuil. 


CAPTURE    OF    TICONDEROGA.  547 

returned,  on  the  7th  of  July,  to  the  landing;  whereas, 
if  they  had  marched  on,  they  would  have  found  the 
lines  of  intrenchnient  just  begun,  and  unable  to  arrest 
their  progress.1  2.  There  was,  virtually,  no  com- 
manding officer.  Abercrombie  himself  remained  at 
the  sawmill ;  and  he  might  as  well  have  been  a  sawyer 
as  a  general.  Was  it  not  remarkable  that  no  head 
could  be  found  to  direct  sixteen  thousand  men?2  3. 
In  the  third  place,  the  energies  of  the  Provincial 
t loops  were  not  fully  brought  out  on  the  occasion. 
Abercrombie,  like  Braddock,  had  a  contempt  of  the 
colonists,  and  had  depreciated  them  ever  since  he  as- 
sumed the  command.3  Putnam  and  Stark  were  on 
the  field,  but  nothing  is  heard  of  them.  The  total 
number  of  killed  was  576,  and  of  these  only  92  were 
provincials;  of  the  1421  wounded,  only  261  were  pro- 
vincials. The  regulars  bore  the  brunt  of  the  battle. 
in  consequence  of  Abercrombie's  prejudices.  4.  An- 
other providence  was  the  entire  absence  of  Indians 
among  the  French.4  Six  hundred  warriors  arrived 
only  five  days  after  the    engagement.5     Had  these 


1  Montcalm  says  :  "  On  the  7th,  the  entire  army  was  employed 
at  the  works  and  abattis,  roughly  prepared  on  the  previous  night 
by  the  2d  battalion  of  Berri."     X.,  738. 

-  The  official  document  does  not  mention  the  name  of  a  single 
officer,  during  the  battle.  X.,  725,  726.  Bradstreet  and  Clerk 
had  been  mentioned  previously. 

3  Bancroft,  iii.,  340. 

*  Doreil  says,  "  There  was  not  a  single  one  of  them."    X.,  745. 

5  On  the  13th  of  July. 


548  CAPTURE    OF    TICONDEROGA. 

been  present  in  the  first  conflict,  at  Lord  How< 
death,  hundreds  of  the  British  and  Americans  would 
have  fallen,  entangled  in  the  woods.'  Or  could  these 
savage  warriors  have  been  present  to  pursue  A.ber- 
orombie's  disorganized  soldiers,  as  they  fled  back  to 
their  camp  on  Lake  George,  what  additional  slaughter 
would  have  defiled  thai  terrible  day!2 

The  English,  still  fourteen  thousand  Btrong,  fled 
before  thirty-five  hundred  French  and  Canadians. 
On  the  following  morning,  the  whole  army  re-em- 
barked in  their  bateaux  up  Lake  George,  eight}  boats 
being  filled  with  the  wounded,3  and  reached  their  en- 
campment, at  the  head  of  the  lake,  the  same  night." 

Thus,  the  fourth  military  lesson  taughl  at  Ticonde- 
roga,  during  the  Old    French  War,  was.   Numbers, 

WITHOUT  A  HEAD,  PER  1  SI  1   BEFORE  THE  POWER  OF  A   WELL- 
ORGANIZED   BAND. 

The  defeat  of  Abercrombie  operated,  like  all  re- 
verses in  a  good  cause,  among  the  brave,  in  inspiriug 

1  "I  am  certain,  had  the  enemy  three  or  four  hundred  Indians 
with  them  at  the  beginning  of  this  rencounter,  they  would  have 
beaten  us  and  driven  us  to  our  bateaux."     X.,  735. 

2  Montcalm  writes:  "Wha1  a  day  for  Prance,  if  I  had  hud 
only  two  hundred  Indians  to  let  loose  atthe  close  of  the  action." 
X.,  749. 

3  X.,  896.     The  wounded  were  sent  off  the  evening  ltd  ore. 

4  Dr.  Searing  says:  "July  9th.  The  principal  part  of  the 
bateaux  arrived  at  Fort  William  Henry  at  seven  o'clock  in  the 
evening,  and  again  encamped."  New  York  Hist .  Proceeding-. 
1847,  p.  117. 


CAPTURE    OF     TICOXDEROGA.  549 

the  resolution  that,  what  ought  to  be  done,  must  he 
done.  Fort  Carillon  ought  to  fall,  and  it  must  fall. 
Canada  ought  to  be  conquered,  and  it  must  be  con- 
quered. The  great  purpose  of  gaining  possession  of 
Canada  was  thus  established  with  crowning  energy  in 
the  minds  of  the  British  rulers  and  of  the  American 
people.  "  No  talk  of  peace."  writes  Vaudreuil,  Gover- 
nor of  Canada;  "on  the  contrary,  the  English  will 
absolutely  have  Canada,  and  are  to  attack  it  at 
various  points." ' 

Three  expeditions  were  organized  in  1750.  whose 
destiny  was  Quebec  and  Montreal.  One  division  of 
the  British  forces  was  to  sail  for  the  St.  Lawrence, 
under  the  command  of  Wolfe;  the  main  branch  of 
the  army  was  to  pass  through  Lake  George,  Ticonde- 
roga,  and  Crown  Point,  under  General  Amherst,  who 
had  conducted  the  successful  expedition  against  Cape 
Breton  the  preceding  year,  and  who  had  succeeded 
General  Abercrombie  in  the  command;  and  a  third, 
under  Prideaux,  was  to  co-operate  with  the  other  two. 
after  capturing  Fort  Niagara,  by  entering  the  St. 
Lawrence  through  Lake  Ontario. 

Montcalm  early  foresaw  the  triumph  of  the  Eng- 
lish. Writing  to  Marshal  de  Belle  Isle,  on  April  12th, 
1759,  he  remarks  :  "  Canada  will  be  taken  this  cam- 
paign, and  assuredly  during  the  next,  if  there  be  not 
some  unforeseen  good  luck,  or  a  powerful  diversion 

1  X.,  947. 


550  C  A P T  U  11  K    OF    TICONDEROGA. 

by  sea  against  the  English  colonics,  or  some  gross 
blunders  on  the  part  of  the  enemy." '  Again,  he  said  : 
"If  the  war  continue,  Canada  will  belong  to  the  Eng- 
lish, perhaps  this  very  campaign,  or  the  next."5 
France  had  neglected  to  reinforce  her  crippled  regi- 
ments. 

The  large  armament,  collected  under  Lord  Amherst, 
took  the  usual  route  to  Albany,  Fort  Edward^  and 
Lake  George.     A  fort,  called  Fori  George,  was  built 
by  Amherst  lingering  .it  the  head  of  the  lake."'    After 
the  usual  waste  of  time,    the   expedition,   consisting 
of  12.000  men,  with  artillery  and  stores,  sel  out  in 
boats  on  the  21st  of  July.     A  landing  was  effected 
without  opposition  at  the  point,  above  the  present 
landing,  on  the  eastern  shore  of  the  lake.'1     The  ad- 
vantage of  this  route  to  the  fort  consisted  in  its  soon 
joining    the   well-travelled   road    from    the   Carrying 
Place  to  the  lower  falls,  without  risking  opposition  at 
landing.     The  point  itself  formed  a  bay,  where  the 
army   could    disembark    without    molestation.     The 
march  to  the  lowrer  falls  was  soon  made.     On  cross- 
ing over  to  the  French  lines  of  intrenchment,  so  fatal 
in  1758,  they  were  abandoned  by  the  enemy.    Many 
a  soldier  remembered  the  military  tragedy  enacted 


1  X.,  960.  2  X.,  962.  3  Mante's  History,  p.  201. 

1  So  laid  down  upon  the  English  map.  The  point  is  south  of 
the  steamboat  landing.  The  artillery  was  landed  farther  down, 
near  the  chute. 


CAPTURE    OF     TICONDEROGA.  551 

there  the  preceding  year,  and  cast  looks  of  mysterious 
scrutiny  at  the  rude  works  so  victoriously  defended. 
In  the  centre  of  these  memorable  lines,  the  French 
had  erected,  in  celebration  of  their  victory,  a  lofty 
cross,  which  still  remained ;  a  deep  grave  was  sunk 
before  it,  and  on  the  cross  was  a  plate  of  brass,  on 
which  was  engraven  this  inscription  : 

$)one  pvfuciprs  eorum  sfcut  €>reb  et  Zcb,  et  %ebn  et  ^almuimn.1 

Montcalm  no  longer  commanded  the  promontory 
of  Ticonderoga.  The  severer  exigencies  of  the  cam- 
paign had  summoned  him  to  Quebec,  to  resist  the 
movements  of  the  gallant  Wolfe.  The  regiments  of 
La  Sarre,  Languedoc,  Beanie,  Guyenne,  and  Royal 
Rousillon,  which  once  stood  conquerors  behind  those 
entrenchments,  were  now  afar  off  on  the  St.  Law- 
rence; and  the  garrison  in  the  fort  was  reduced  to 
four  hundred  men.  Bourlamaque,  the  French  com- 
mander, perceiving,  from  Amherst's  mode  of  con- 
ducting operations,  that  a  defence  of  the  fort  would 
be  impracticable,  withdrew  the  main  body  of  his 
troops,  consisting  of  three  thousand  men,  to  Crown 
Point,  on  the  23d.  Amherst  was  a  cautious  officer. 
Although  he  commanded  12,000  men  against  400,  he 


1  M  ante's  History,  p.  212,  and  Warburton's  Canada,  II,  149. 
For  the  meaning  of  the  inscription,  see  Ps.  83  :  11.  Consult  also 
Judges  7  :  25  and  8  :  21. 


552  CAPTURE    OF    TICONDEROGA. 

was  not  to  be  ensnared  before  fortifications.  Accord- 
ingly, he  commenced,  in  approved  military  style,  to 
dig  trenches,  run  parallels,  and  establish  batteries. 
The  garrison  bravely  resisted,  and  on  the  nighl  of 
the  25th,  made  a  sally  which  threw  the  British  camp 
into  great  confusion;  but  at  the  end  of  three  days. 
the  works  were  ready.  Two  batteries1  were  to  be 
opened  against  the  fort  on  the  morning  of  the  'J7th  ; 
but  the  French,  foreseeing  \\<  doom,  had  already 
abandoned  it  in  the  night,  demolishing  a  part  of  the 
walls,  and  retiring  to  Crown  Point.  On  the  following 
day,  July  27th,  Amherst  took  possession  of  the  fort, 
in  the  name  of  King  George. 

For  the  first  time,  an  English  ann\  stood  upon  the 
tine  old  promontory  of  Ticonderoga.  A  grand  scene 
of  mountain  and  of  lake  greeted  the  soldiers.  There 
arose  Mount  Defiance,  inactive  in  the  war.  yet  tower- 
ing in  strength  above  Carillon,  overlooking  the  joy 
of  the  conquerors.  From  its  eminence.  ;i>  yet  un- 
named and  unoccupied,  Mount  Independence  smiled 
upon  the  change  of  dynasty.  Opening  in  the  dis- 
tance, lay  the  great  lake,  which  had  borne  so  many 
boisterous  expeditions  of  war,  now  placid  in  the  sum- 
mer sun,  and  exciting   admiration   as  when  Cham- 


1  Holmes's  American  Annals,  II,  233. 
'Amherst's  Official  Report. 

5  Amherst,  on  gaining  possession   of  the  fort,  filled   up  the 
trenches  and  parallels,  so  that  not  a  trace  of  them  now  remains. 


CAPTURE    OF     TICONDEROGA.  553 

plain's  eye  first  rested  upon  its  bosom  of  beauty. 
And  there,  amidst  the  glories  of  the  scene,  stood  up 
the  rude  fort  of  Carillon,  full  of  pluck  and  war,  with 
its  four  bastions  guarding  every  point  of  the  compass, 
and  its  banner,  tattered  by  many  a  wind,  left  floating 
over  the  ramparts,  to  be  pulled  down  by  other  hands 
than  those  which  had  strung  it  up. 

The  victory  had  been  won  at  last,  without  a  battle. 
Never  had  an  English  cannon  been  fired  against 
( 'arillon ;  never  had  the  fort  discharged  its  guns 
against  an  assailing  foe.  Called  into  life  against 
William  Henry,  it  had  survived  its  vanquished  enemy, 
and  had  rallied  at  its  advanced  lines  a  gallant  army, 
to  win  one  of  the  most  wonderful  victories  ever 
achieved  in  America.  But  the  time  of  its  own  doom 
had  come!  Behold!  the  English  flag  now  waves  its 
royal  folds  over  its  shattered  ramparts;  the  drums 
beat  "God  save  the  King;"  the  French  lilies,  trodden 
beneath  strange  feet,  give  incense  to  the  conquerors ; 
and  the  guns  of  the  fort  sound  aloud  to  either  lake 
the  final  triumph  of  1759.  Thus  Carillon  yielded 
up  its  name ;  and  England,  in  the  presence  of  France, 
occupied  the  promontory  of  Ticonderoga ! 

The  fifth  military  lesson,  taught  at  Ticonderoga  in 
the  Old  French  War,  was,  Providence  shapes  the 

END,    ROUGH    HEW   IT    HOW   WE    MAY. 

47 


554  CAPTURE     OF     TICOXDEROGA. 

IV.  Revolutionary  Events. 

The  fourth  series  of  historical  events  at  Ticon- 
deroga,  relates  to  the  war  of  the  American  Revolu- 
tion. Although  these  events  do  not  properly  belong 
to  the  times  how  commemorated,  yel  the  interval 
between  them  is  so  short,  and  the  events  are  so  inti- 
mately connected  with  Ticonderoga,  thai  a  brief 
reference  to  them  is  demanded  by  the  occasion. 

Peace  between  England  and  France  was  concluded 
in  17C3.  Questions  of  colonial  policy  had  already 
risen,  on  which  different  opinions  were  held  by  the 
King's  ministers  and  the  Colonies.1  In  the  agitation 
which  prevailed,  a  speedy  rupture  was  foreseen. 
Blood  was  spilt  at  Concord  and  Lexington  in  April. 
1775.  What  can  now  resist  the  tide-wave  of  the 
American  Revolution  ? 

The  dawn  of  a  May  morning,  in  1775,  found  Ethan 
Allen  and  eighty-two  sons  of  New  England  inside  of 
Fort  Ticonderoga,  waking  up  the  British  soldiers  by 
loud  defiant  huzzas.  Allen  himself  then  knocked  on 
the  commanding  officer's  door  with  the  strong  fists  of 
a  Vermonter ;  and  when  De  La  Place  made  his  ap- 
pearance in  the  unmilitary  undress  of  night  clothes, 


1  Among  the  members  of  Parliament  who  uniformly  voted 
against  the  American  cause,  was  the  very  Abercrombie  who  had 
disgraced  England  and  her  Colonies,  in  1758,  at  the  French 
lines,  and  in  the  flight  to  the  camp  on  Lake  George. — Bancroft. 


CAPTURE    OF     TICONDEROGA.  555 

the  impetuous  victor  shook  his  sword  over  his  head, 
and  exacted  an  immediate  surrender  "  in  the  name  of 
Jehovah  and  the  Continental  Congress."  The  astonished 
officer  obeyed  the  emphatic  and  resistless  summons ; 
and  Ticonderoga  became  the  first-fruits  of  the  har- 
vest of  American  victories. 

Seth  Warner,  two  days  after,  captured  Crown  Point. 
The  peculiarities  of  Allen's  daring  exploit  consisted 
partly  in  the  authority  under  which  it  was  executed, 
which  was  not  that  of  the  Continental  Congress,  or 
of  the  New  York  Legislature,  but  of  the  Governor 
and  Council  of  the  "  land  of  steady  habits."  Con- 
necticut also  furnished  the  funds.  2.  The  deed  was 
performed  fourteen  months  before  the  Declaration  of 
Independence.  3.  It  was  executed  with  great  skill 
and  bravery.  Although  numbers  were  on  Allen's 
side,  all  the  contingencies  were  against  him  ;  and  few 
men  could  have  succeeded  as  he  did.  4.  The  event 
inspired  the  Colonies  with  hope  and  self-reliance. 
Indeed,  few  recorded  exploits  excite  more  admiration, 
not  unmixed  with  mirth,  than  Ethan  Allen's  at  Ti- 
conderoga. 

.  I  need  not  detain  you  by  reciting  how  Burgoyne 
recaptured  Ticonderoga,  in  1777,  first  by  gaining  pos- 
session of  Mount  Hope,  and  cutting  off  the  commu- 
nication with  Lake  George ;  then  by  conveying  can- 
non to  the  top  of  Mount  Defiance,  where  the  holes, 
drilled  in  the  rocks  (as  some  think  to  keep  the  artil- 


556  CAPTURE    OF    TICONDEROGA. 

lery  in  position),  are  still  visible,  and  also  the  remains 

of  the  old  block-house.  You  all  know  how  St.  Clair, 
perceiving  his  certain  doom,  evacuated  the  fort,  which 
was  recovered  on  the  surrender  of  Burgoyne,  and 
again  captured  by  the  British  in  L780,  and  given  up 
at  the  close  of  the  war. 

These  revolutionary  incidents  arise  t<>  our  view. 
like  distant  points  of  an  attractive  Landscape,  although 
outside  of  the  range  of  special  observation. 

Our  present  commemoration  is  with  the  old  French 
War;  and  to  that  we  now  come  back,  al  the  summons 
of  1759,  to  meditate  upon  some  of  its  Lessons. 

CENTENNIAL   LESSONS. 

The  sounds  of  war,  echoing  with  centennial  rever- 
beration over  the  passes  of  Ticonderoga,  suggest 
moral  and  historical  re  1  lections. 


I.  What  a  contrast  between  these  times  of  peace 
and  those  times  OF  WAR  !  Ticonderoga  has  been  the 
graveyard  of  many  a  soldier.  Its  sod  has  been  crim- 
soned with  human  blood,  like  the  red  hue  of  the 
forest  now  pervading  the  autumnal  landscape.  Scenes 
of  terror  have  been  enacted  here.  Up  and  down 
Lake  George,  tides  of  woe  have  been  stirred  by  war 
upon  its  rocky  shores.  Oh,  War !  with  laurel-en- 
twined brow,  thy  hand  grasps  for  vengeance ;  thy 
heart  burns  with  wrath  !     The  visible  impress  of  an 


CAPTURE     OF     TICONDEROGA.  557 

awful  presence  still  abides  in  Ticonderoga.  The  ruins 
of  the  old  fort  are  the  emblems  of  the  fierce  old  times, 
when  men  sought  for  blood  as  the  thirsty  deer  laps 
the  fresh  water  of  the  brook.  All  hail,  Peace  !  sent 
of  God  to  bless  the  new  century  !  The  promontory 
no  more  resounds  with  war-whoops ;  Celts  and  Saxons 
pursue  no  more  their  stratagems  of  death.  The  con- 
trasts of  peace  elevate  the  century  that  is,  above  the 
century  that  was. 

II.  The  various  military  events  enacted  at  Ticon- 
deroga in  former  years,  declare  the  magnitude  of  the 

OBJECT    BEFORE    THE  TWO  CONTENDING    PARTIES.       It  was 

to  settle  not  only  the  boundaries  of  kingdoms,  but 
the  dominion  of  religion,  of  language,  and  of  race; 
not  merely  for  a  State,  but  for  a  Continent,  Shall 
France  rule  in  America?  Shall  the  Papacy  triumph 
in  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi?  Shall  Celtic  or 
Anglo-Saxon  be  the  language  and  literature  prevalent 
on  both  sides  of  the  Alleghanies  ?  These  were  the 
great  questions  put  and  answered  at  the  cannon's 
mouth,  and  discussed  in  the  conflicts  on  the  Monon- 
gahela,  at  Ticonderoga,  and  in  Quebec.  Higher  far 
than  elements  in  the  extension  of  the  possessions  <<( 
the  House  of  Bourbon  or  of  Hanover,  were  the  plans 
of  statesmen,  the  deeds  of  warriors,  the  blood  of 
armies.  Interwoven  among  the  incidents  of  cam- 
paigns were  issues  far-reaching  and  transcendent. 
47* 


558  CAPTURE    OF     TICONDEROGA. 

New  England  especially  was  alive  with  the  activity 

of  religious  thought.-  and  feelings.    She  seems  to  have 
had  a  prophetic  sense  of  the  coming  destiny.      Her 
ministers  preached  and  laboured   for  the  Buccess  of 
the  Protestant  arms;  chaplains  attended  her  soldiers, 
on  distant  encampments;    and  religion,  more   than 
liberty,  animated  her  public  spirit  through  the  trying 
scenes  of  these  old  campaigns.     Not  Less  earnest  w  t'- 
Jesuit  priests  and  Roman  Catholic  Leaders  in  a  war. 
upon  whose  events  hung  the  missions  of  the  St.  Law- 
rence and  the  lakes,  and  the  progress  of  the  religion 
throughout   the    vast    boundaries    of    the   Western 
World.     The  Old  French  War  was  emphatically  a 
war  of  religion.'     In  this  respect,  it  possessed  a  moral 
grandeur   above   that  of   the   American    Revolution. 
The  contests  at  Ticonderoga  were  for  an  open  Bible 
and  a  free  conscience.     Our  Puritan  lathers,  like  the 
Israelites,  went  to  the  battle-field  for  their  inherit- 
ance;  and  although   the  campaigns  were  often  pro- 
jected by  worldly  officers,  and  fought  by  thoughtless 
soldiers,  yet  was  religion  the  great  issue  involved  in 
the  contest,  and  remembered  at  the  family  altars  and 
in  the  sanctuaries  of  New  England  and  New  York. 
Mothers  pressed  their  children  in  faith  to  their  hearts, 
and  prayed  for  the  success  of  Johnson,  and  Aber- 
crombie,  and  Amherst,  and  Putnam,  and  Stark ;  and 

1  The  Old  French  War  on  the  Continent   of  Europe  and  in 
America  was,  properly,  the  last  of  the  religious  wars. 


CAPTURE    OF    TICONDEROGA.  559 

far-seeing  clergymen  and  statesmen  beheld,  in  every 
victory  of  liberty,  the  triumphs  of  Christianity. 

III.  The  conflicts  at  Ticonderoga  contributed  to 

THE  ACQUISITION  OF  CANADA  AND  THE  MISSISSIPPI  V AL- 
LEY.    According  to  the  measure  of  their  success,  the 
military  actions  of  the  region  had  a  bearing  upon  the 
final  triumph.     The  war  was  begun,  on  the  part  of 
England,  with  the  simple   aim  of  resisting  French 
encroachments,  and  of  maintaining  her  own  rights 
of  territory.     There  were  not  wanting,  indeed,  public 
men,  both  in   England  and   New  York,  who  main- 
tained, in  the  early  part  of  the  struggle,  that  the 
conquest   of  Canada  was   the  only  solid  foundation 
of  peace.1      But  this  object  did  not  enter  into  the 
aims    of    English    statesmen    until    Pitt   came    into 
power.     And  it  has  been  said   that,  even  as  late  as 
the  autumn  of  1758,  England  would  have  been  con- 
tent to  make    a  treaty,  leaving  Canada  to  France, 
provided  the  latter  power  would  have  agreed  to  give 
to  England  her  boundaries  in  Acadia,  on  the  New 
York  frontiers,  and  in  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi.2 
However  that  may  be,  it  is  certain  that  every  victory, 
which  weakened  the  power  of  France,  engaged  Eng- 

1  "  Canada,  my  lord,"  wrote  a  distinguished  New  Yorker,  in 
1755,  "  Canada  must  be  demolished — delenda  est  Carthago — or 
we  are  undone."     Review  of  Military  operations,  p.  143. 

2  Entick's  History,  IV.,  83. 


560  CAPTURE    OF     TICONDEROGA. 

land    to    claim  Canada.     The   expeditions   of    L759 
openly  aimed  at  its  conquest.     The  taking  of  Ticon- 
deroga  was  one  of  the  preliminaries  of  success.     Am- 
herst had  been  expected  to  press  forward  with  tin- 
main  army,  and  join  Wolfe  before  Quebec.     Instead 
of  building  a  fort  at  Lake  George,  and  repairing  and 
enlarging  the  one  at  Ticonderoga,  and  establishing  a 
new  one  at  Crown  Point,  which  was  the  most  north- 
ern position  he  reached,  he  ought  to  have  pushed 
his   way  down    the   St.   Lawrence,   and    stood    with 
Wolfe  upon  the  plains  of  Abraham.    Wolfe  succeeded 
merely  by  one  of  those  providential  interpositions, 
which  sometimes  crown  the  daring  of  a  forlorn  hope. 
.Montreal  fell  in  the  following  year ;   and  Canada  be- 
came English  after  the  long  toils  and  conflicts  of  the 
Old  French  War,  in  which  Ticonderoga  bore  so  im- 
portant a  part.     Canada  being   conquered,  the  do- 
minion of  France  in  America  necessarily  terminated 
at  the  end  of  the  war;  and  the  whole  country,  east 
of  the  Mississippi,  with  a  slight  exception,  reverted 
to  England. 

IV.  Another  centennial  reflection  is,  that  strong 

MILITARY  POSITIONS  OFTEN  BECOME  WEAK  IN  THE  PRO- 
GRESS of  civilization.  Ticonderoga  possessed  strength 
in  its  original  configuration,  by  its  command  over  the 
passes  between  the  St.  Lawrence  and  the  Hudson.  In 
the  early  state  of  the  frontier,  no  military  position  in 


CAPTURE     Or     TICOXDEROGA.  561 

Northern  New  York  equalled  it  in  importance.  Its 
strength  was  greatest,  however,  relatively  to  the  times. 
The  engineering  skill  of  the  Old  French  War  did  not 
venture  to  seize  the  overhanging  mountain  near  at 
hand ;  *  nor  could  the  ordinary  artillery,  used  in  the 
western  wilderness,  assail  with  sure  effect  at  such  a 
distance.  Modern  warfare  seeks  new  military  posi- 
tions, and  necessitates  new  centres  of  attack  and  de- 
fence. The  frontier  itself  has,  also,  been  removed 
far  off.  So  that  Ticonderoga  has  lost  much  of  its 
importance;  like  a  man  outliving  his  usefulness,  or 
whose  influence  has  been  overshadowed  by  a  change 
of  circumstances.  Providence  sets  up  one  place,  and 
puts  down  another,  in  the  ever  progressive  move- 
ments of  its  sovereign  ordinations. 

V.  The  sacrifices  in  the  Old  French  War, 
scarcely  less    than    those    of    the    Revolution,    led 

ON   TO    THE    CONTEST    FOR    INDEPENDENCE. 

War  always  demands  sacrifices;  sacrifices  of  time, 
of  resources,  of  industry,  of  comforts,  of  human  life. 
New  England  freely  contributed  of  them  all  in  both 
wars.  So  did  New  York  and  New  Jersey,  and  the  other 


'  It  does  not  appear  to  me  clear  that  Montcalm  himself  re- 
garded the  mountain  as  available  in  reducing  the  fortification. 
Certainly,  the  English  did  not.  "The  heights  which  command 
Carillon  "  were  not  the  mountain,  but  the  hill  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  intrenchments.     X.  766. 

2l 


562  CAPTURE    OF    TICONDEROGA. 

colonies.     The  people  became   inured  to  self-denial 
and  suffering,  and  fought  their  way  up  in  spirit  and 
power   to   national    independence.      Not   more    cer- 
tainly is  Mount  Defiance  included  in  the  same  land- 
scape   with   Mount   Independence,  on    the    opposite 
shore  of  Champlain,  than  do  the  battle-fields  of  the 
French  War  stand  in   juxtaposition    with    those  of 
the  American  Revolution.     The  interval   that  sepa- 
rated the  two  wars  was  short  — only  twelve  or  thir- 
teen years ;   and  that  interval  was  marked   by  politi- 
cal agitations,  which  may  be  said  to  have  kept  the 
watchfires  burning.'      The  men   who  had  defended 
themselves  against  French  encroachments  were  not 
the    men    to    submit  to  English  aggression.     Truer 
ideas  of  liberty  had  Ik  en  evolved  in  all  the  discus- 
sions of   the  French  War,  and   a  stronger  reliance 
had  been  nurtured  in  provincial  prowess.     Ticonde- 
roga  was  one  of  the  military  academies,  where  were 
trained  the  generals  and  soldiers  for  the  Revolution. 
As  Lake  George  flows  into  Lake  Champlain  by  the 
connecting  pathway  of  a  narrow  stream,  so  the  Old 
French  War,  after  a  brief  interval,  found  its  natu- 
ral  outlet  into  the   expanding   course  of  American 
Liberty. 

1  The  year  1763,  in  which  the  treaty  of  peace  between  Eng- 
land and  France  was  signed,  was  the  very  year  in  which  Samuel 
Otis  delivered,  at  Boston,  his  celebrated  speech,  which  opened 
the  campaign  of  the  American  Revolution. 


CAPTURE    OF    TICONDEROGA.  56^ 

VI.  The  true  defences  of  a  country  consist,  not  in 

ITS    FORTS,    BUT    IN    THE    HEARTS    AND    ENERGIES    OF    THE 

people.  Unless  a  fort  occupies  a  commanding  mili- 
tary position,  extremely  difficult  to  assault  success- 
fully, it  invites  preparations  for  its  destruction,  and 
it  is  sure  to  fall  before  an  active  foe.  How  far  Forts 
William  Henry  and  Carillon  accomplished  any  im- 
portant result  that  was  not  equally  within  the  reach 
of  military  expeditions,  it  may  not  be  easy  to  decide. 
Sir  William  Johnson,  after  the  defeat  of  Dieskau,  was 
afraid  to  proceed  against  Ticonderoga,  although  un- 
protected at  that  time  by  a  fortification.  And  it  is 
certain  that  Fort  William  Henry  was  not  of  any  great 
service  during  the  war.  Indeed,  its  unmilitary  posi- 
tion, and  the  unprotected  state  of  its  defences,  invited 
its  memorable  doom  of  blood.  Ticonderoga  was  un- 
doubtedly of  more  use  to  the  French  than  was  Wil- 
liam Henry  to  the  English.  Yet  there  was  no  power 
in  Ticonderoga  to  arrest  Amherst  in  1759,  or  Bur- 
goyne  in  1777.  Burgoyne  easily  captured  the  fort 
from  its  natural  point  of  attack ;  but  his  own  army 
was  as  easily  captured  after  he  had  rashly  advanced 
into  the  territory  of  a  people  resolute  to  defend  their 
country  and  their  homes.  Without  denying  the 
utility,  and  even  the  necessity,  of  fortifications  among 
the  resources  of  war,  and  without  depreciating  the 
ancient  power  of  these  little  fortresses  on  the  North- 
ern frontier,  it  will  be  generally  admitted  that  the 


564  CAPTURE    OF    T I  C  0  N  DEROGA. 

true  defences  of  a  country  against  an   invading  foe 

consist  in  the  intelligence,  the  virtue,  the  hardihood, 
and  the  skill  in  arms,  of  the  yeomanry  of  the  land. 

VII.   A  word  may  be  said  in  commemoration  of 

THE  GREAT  MEN,  WHO  HAVE  MOVED  AMONG  THE  PASSES  OF 
TlCONDEROGA. 

At  the  head  of  the  illustrious,  stands  Champlain. 
Animated  by  the  spirit  of  adventure  lie  left  his  home 
at  St.  Onge  for  the  seas,  and  became  the  founder  of 
Quebec,  and  the  discoverer  of  the  lake  of  the  Iroquois 
and  of  Ticonderoga.  If  a  monument  should  ever  !><■ 
erected  on  the  promontory,  in  honour  of  its  great  men 
and  its  great  events,  the  name  of  Champlain  ought 
to  l)e  upon  it,  with  an  arquebus  engraved  as  the  fit 
memorial  of  his  presence,  in  1609. 

Among  the  Iroquois,  who  often  ambushed  here,  was 
Hendrick,  the  great  Mohawk  chief.  There  is  a  re- 
corded notice  of  one  of  his  excursions  against  the 
Canadians,  in  1747.'  With  his  people,  he  often  im- 
portuned the  Governor  of  New  York  to  organize  an 
expedition  to  attack  Crown  Point.2  Let  the  name  of 
Hendrick  be  upon  the  Ticonderoga  monument,  in 
commemoration  of  the  Iroquois  owners  of  the  soil, 
with  a  bow  and  tomahawk  for  a  memorial. 


1  Hendrick  or  "White  Head,"  a  great  Mohawk  Chief,  who  had 
made  an  attack  on  our  settlements,  last  war.  X.,  323.  Also 
VI.,  343.  2  VI.,  946. 


CAPTURE     OF     TICONDEROGA.  565 

Montcalm  is  forever  associated  with  Carillon.  The 
two  great  exploits  that  made  him  the  hero  of  Lake 
George,  were  the  destruction  of  Fort  William  Henry 
at  its  south  side,  in  1757,  and  the  repulse  of  Aber- 
crombie  on  the  north  side,  in  1758.  Let  a  sword, 
with  its  handle  entwined  with  lilies,  be  the  emblem 
of  the  heroic  Frenchman. 

Lord  Howe,  young  and  chivalrous  and  beloved, 
died  a  military  death  in  the  overarching  forests  of 
Ticonderoga.  A  wreath  of  laurel  is  his  appropriate 
monumental  remembrancer. 

Amherst,  the  tardy  and  the  watchful,  the  "slow 
but  sure  "  of  generals,  has  a  title  to  a  place  on  the 
monument,  as  the  capturer  of  Carillon.  The  arms 
of  our  mother  England  should  be  inscribed  with  his 
name. 

FiTHAN  Allen,  the  daring,  dashing  Vermonter,  per- 
formed a  deed  of  valour  in  the  early  dawn  of  the 
American  Revolution,  that  demands  a  patriotic  com- 
memoration. Let  his  name  be  engraved  in  old  Rorrian 
letters,  with  a  representation  of  the  stars  and  stripes ! 
•  Other  great  men,  as  the  Schuylers,  Putnam,  Stark. 
Pomeroy,  Burgojme,  St.  Clair,  etc.,  were  well  known 
here ;  but  the  preceding  names  may  be  a  sufficient 
and  proper  selection  from  them  all. 

Citizens  of  Ticonderoga!  shall  not  1859  make  the 
contribution  of  a  monument  in   memory   of   1759  ' 
There  is  no  finer  or  fitter  place  in  the  world  for  an 
48 


566  CAPTURE    OF     TICONDEROGA. 

historical  shaft.  On  an  elevated  and  memorable  pla- 
teau, amidst  the  ruins  of  the  olden  time,  in  sight  of 
grand  and  towering  mountains,  and  in  the  presence 
of  a  beautiful  lake,  Nature  pleads  with  History  for  a 
memorial.  Let  not  a  monument  be  denied  on  such 
a  site,  for  such  names,  and  for  such  deeds,  at  the  be- 
ginning of  a  new  century,  which  rekindles  afresh 
memories  that  can  never  die. 

VII.  The  last  thought,  suggested  by  the  occasion, 
is  the  Century's  Call. 

The  roll  has  often  been  beaten  by  the  drum  in  Fort 
Carillon,  and  in  its  successor  fort,  Ticonderoga ;  sound- 
ing its  notes  with  the  morning  sun,  and  arousing  the 
camp  to  duty  and  to  toil.  To-clay,  the  new  Century 
beats  the  reveille !  Its  awakening  strains  call  to 
thoughts  of  the  past  and  of  the  future  !  Methinks, 
I  hear  the  solemn  sounds  from  the  band  of  a  hundred 
years,  coming  down  to  the  armies  of  the  living  gene- 
ration, over  the  graves  of  thousands  sleeping  in  the 
camp  of  death. 

The  advent  of  the  new  century  demands  a  grate- 
ful remembrance  of  ancestral  deeds.  The  work,  done 
by  the  men  of  olden  time,  was  great  in  its  passing 
benefits,  but  greatest  in  its  progressive  good.  What 
an  inheritance  of  unnumbered  blessings,  personal, 
social,  and  religious,  has  been  bequeathed  by  our  an- 

Jtors,  whose  character  is  stamped  armorially  upon 


CAPTURE     OF     TICONDEROGA.  567 

all  their  gifts  !  Those  men  are  ours  by  country-right 
and  history-right ;  ours  by  the  consecration  of  doing 
and  suffering  and  dying.  At  the  incoming  of  1859. 
Gratitude  cherishes  the  virtue  and  the  valour  of  past 
generations. 

The  Century's  call  announces  the  future  destiny  of 
our  country.  With  prophetic  trumpet  in  hand,  the 
new  century  points  to  the  coming  greatness  and  in- 
fluence of  America  among  the  nations  of  the  earth. 
The  elements  tendered  by  local  history  for  the  cal- 
culation, evolve  a  problem  of  vast  magnitude.  At 
the  capture  of  Ticonderoga,  thirteen  States  and  two 
millions  of  inhabitants  were  the  sum  of  our  national 
power ;  at  the  end  of  a  hundred  years,  thirty-three 
States,  with  as  many  millions  of  inhabitants,  rise  up 
in  the  name  of  American  progress.  In  1759.  the 
Empire  State  was  almost  an  unbroken  wilderness, 
north  and  west  of  Albany;  in  1859,  its  fields  and 
valleys,  from  Lake  Champlain  to  Lake  Erie,  are  robed 
with  the  vegetation  of  abounding  harvests  ;  and.  the 
eighty  thousand  of  its  inhabitants  have  swelled  to 
three  millions,  or  one-third  more  than  were  in  the 
whole  country  a  century  ago.  Who  can  foretell  the 
future  progress,  resources,  and  greatness  of  America.  ? 

"  Oh,  fair  young  mother  !    on  thy  brow 
Shall  sit  a  nobler  grace  than  now. 
Deep  in  the  brightness  of  thy  skies, 
The  thronging  years  in  glory  rise, 

And,  as  they  fleet, 
Drop  strength  and  riches  at  thy  feet.'' 


568  CAPTURE     OF     TICONDEROGA. 

The  Century's  call  is  to  GOD,  above  all  and  het/mui 
all.  He  created  the  majestic  mountains  around  about 
Ticonderoga,  its  sweet  valley,  and  glorious  lakes,  and 
notable  promontory.  In  his  holy  Providence,  He  has 
overruled  all  the  wars  of  Indians,  and  of  Frenchmen, 
and  of  Englishmen,  to  the  advancement  of  Ameri- 
cans. To  God  alone  belongs  the  glory  of  giving 
Liberty  and  Protestantism  to  these  United  States. 
Often  has  He  interposed,  in  dark  times  of  trial,  to 
restore  our  fallen  fortunes.  In  1757,  when,  after  the 
destruction  of  Fort  William  Henry,  France  reigned 
triumphant  over  our  entire  Northern  and  Western 
frontiers;  and  in  1758,  when  Abercrombie's  army 
was  repulsed  with  fearful  slaughter  at  the  Ticonde- 
roga lines,  our  fathers'  God  brought  forth  for  the 
American  cause,  victory  out  of  deep  disaster.  During 
the  intervening  century,  His  goodness  has  marked 
out  our  way  with  clouds  of  direction  and  with  fiery 
pillars  of  defence.'  Throughout  two  other  wars,  our 
country  has  been  conducted  in  safety  and  honour. 
Plenty  fills  the  land.  Revivals  of  religion  animate 
the  churches.  Power  dwells  safely  with  the  people. 
Institutions  of  learning  and  religion  nurture  the 
young.  Peace  smiles  upon  our  inheritance.  "Ye 
are  blessed  of  the  Lord  who  made  heaven  and  earth." 
Lift  up  your  hearts  to  Him  in  the  thoughts  of  cen- 
tennial  commemoration.  Let  Ticonderoga  give  praise 
for  the  events  which  have  wrought  greatness  into  its 


CAPTURE    OF    TICONDEEOGA.  569 

own  history,  and  which  have  contributed  to  the  ad- 
vancement of  the  general  history  of  the  world. 

Every  occurrence,  on  whatever  scale,  brings  glory 
to  God.  Time  daily  worships  Him  at  the  altar  of 
Providence.  Ages  bend  before  Him  in  adoration. 
Centuries,  as  they  sweep  by  on  their  wings  of  majestic 
night,  veil  their  faces  before  His  throne. 

The  end  of  all  things  is  at  hand.  Hark !  The 
reveille  of  eternity  is  marshalling  the  nations  for 
their  last  review.  Mountains,  and  lakes,  anal  skies 
are  flolded  away,  like  tents,  forever.  The  promon- 
tory OF   TIME   IS  NO  MORE  ! 


THE     END. 


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